The company asked the schools to tweak their techniques so that they applied to selling cars. But the Ogasawara Ryu Reihou institute, in Tokyo, agreed to work with the car maker. The institute's teachings have been passed down through the family since the 1300s.
Typical clients are well-bred families who want their children to learn good table manners and posture. The institute also advises mourners on the correct way to behave at Japanese funerals. Keishosai Ogasawara, the hereditary master of the school, says she saw the Toyota job as an opportunity to spread the teachings to a wider audience.
She and her team of etiquette teachers spent months studying the Lexus situation. The result was a set of instructions and diagrams. The etiquette experts determined that a salesperson should stand about two arms' lengths from customers when they are looking at a car and come in closer when closing a deal.
They decided that a salesperson should bow more deeply to a customer who has purchased a car than a casual window shopper. When standing idly Lexus employees must place their left hand over their right with fingers together and thumbs interlocked, a posture originally designed for samurais to show that they were not about to draw their swords. The Warrior's 'Waiting Position': Lean five to 10 degrees forward when a customer is looking at a car.
When serving coffee or tea, kneel on the floor with both feet together and both knees on the ground. Bow more deeply to a customer who buys a car than one who is window shopping. Practice the 'Lexus Face,' a closed-mouth smile said to put customers at ease.
Stand with left hand over right, fingers together and thumbs interlocked, as the samurais did to show they were not about to draw their swords. "It might seem too strict, but each manner has a good reason behind it," says Ms. Ogasawara, who inherited her position a decade ago when her great uncle passed away.
All Lexus employees, from repairmen to showroom managers, learn these and other rules during a three-day training course at the Fuji Lexus College, a fortresslike facility perched on the side of snow-covered Mount Fuji. At a recent class, students held mirrors up to their faces to practice the "Lexus Face," a peaceful Ogasawara-style, closed-mouth smile said to put customers at ease. "The Japanese aren't so good at smiling so we need to practice this one a lot," said Kiyotaka Koyama, the dignified gray-haired director of the college.
Hiroshi Mase, 58, says he was initially impressed by the service he received during a recent visit to a dealership in Yokohama. The technology-company executive loved being served tea and cake as if he were a celebrity. But he says it became overbearing when he went to pick up his new Lexus GS hybrid, and a sales associate gave him a bouquet and held a formal ceremony to hand over the key.
A photo of Mr. Mase with his new car and the showroom's staff was framed and presented to him. "It was just too much," says Mr.
The company asked the schools to tweak their techniques so that they applied to selling cars.
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