Hi all, I’m new to the forum so please forgive any ignorance or stupidity on my part…
I’ve had Naim equipment since the early 00’s but have never really been clear on what to expect (as opposed to what’s offered) by way of help, service, repair etc etc from local dealers both in UK and overseas.
I guess it’s somewhat down to the proactivity of the dealer, but is there a minimum that Naim HQ expects of them? I read with interest of members having equipment serviced, sales folks coming to their homes for demos, loans of equipment, repairs, general tweaking and so on… is that the norm, and can you give some examples of what was done and how you requested it?
My experience of Naim dealers is that their level of service does vary, and it’s well worth finding one who you feel happy with. Some have staff with the skills to carry out some basic servicing, which can avoid the need to return stuff to Naim, not to mention being able to solder NACA5 properly.
In the UK, we are lucky to have lots of dealers in a small country, so it’s easy enough to find one. Mine is nearly 70 miles away, but that’s because I choose to live out in the sticks. Some dealers are happy to travel considerable distances to instal gear and check that your system is set up properly. These are high value items, so I don’t think this is too much to ask.
What Naim’s official expectations are, I have no idea, but these are my impressions, and I’m happy to have a helpful dealer I can rely on.
I agree with Chris. I live in Switzerland but have also visited Naim dealers in Germany. I think that there are different customer expectations between countries as well as between dealers. As always, if you find one that you get along with then you might find that they extend a level of service that exceeds the basic expectations
I think in general in the UK we are very lucky to have some rather excellent dealer that are fairly close.
The dealer that I purchased my Olive kit off of in Bath in the nineties has long gone but fortunately the new dealer Bath is rather excellent.
The advice and time taken in demos both at the shop and at home have been invaluable and very enlightning everything is at a relaxed pace with no pressure.
All my Naim equipment has been installed by the dealer and set up to ensure everything is all OK including iPad settings etc etc and at Naim prices I would expect nothing less mind you I do supply the duster and polish to clean the rack during any installation changes!
I had a intermittent fault with my Core the dealer contacted Naim and a new one was installed at my home within 3 working days that’s what I call service.
Naim H/Q have also been very proactive over the years in resolving any issues I have had.
Morning
i only use one dealer for my NAIM system and have done for a number of years nearly 20 now , they offer the full service from demo’s either of new equipment or possible upgrades, they also work with NAIM on the new realeases - new streaming demo’s being the most recent
they have come to my home to set up new equipment and ensure it is all working as it should do, sent equipment back to the mothership for servicing
I have never had bad service or advice from them, so for me top of the tree, which is what I would imagine NAIM would want from a dealer, and from what I read here most dealers go that extra mile
on the serving side there are a number of specialists on the older equipment, Class A in sheffield comes to mind from the praise Darren gets
Perhaps I have been lucky but the service from my dealer in S W London has been first rate. I have a 500 system which may have an influence on their level of assistance. Its a two way process. If all you do is turn up for countless demos and buy nothing then they might not jump to your urgent request for a home demo!
Overall, I have found other dealers really helpful regardless of any purchase or not. We all like a “win-win” situation. If Salisbury found a lack of dealer customer support I think a few words would be spoken.
The dealer who has been around for a few years and local to you if possible is the one to go for. They must be doing something right in that time.
Douglas.
Without going into too much detail (partly for fear of upsetting distributors in question, I’m sure they must read these!) I’m living out of the UK with limited options of who to go to. I’ve been asking for help with various aspects of my system (all Naim and a lot of £ over the years), but mainly to give it a once over to see everything’s working ok (I found recently I had the speakers the wrong way round, couldn’t believe the difference that made when I got it right!) but not making much headway.
Based on the feedback from you guys, I’ll keep trying… thanks again
Bob, you do not go into detail about your concerns, if you did perhaps other members can help. It’s much easier to post pictures of your system on the new forum, and a few close ups of wiring etc may lead to help from the forum. Just a thought.
There are a few UK based dealers who do a lot of overseas business, and depending on your location, may be able to help. Cymbiosis, based near Leicester, England, spring to mind - maybe worth a phonecall.
Ultimately, the level of service offered by an authorized dealer is up to one party – said authorized dealer. In most geographies, the manufacturer can, at most, offer guidelines for customer service. In most geographies, there is a distributor sitting between Naim and the AD’s, and while Naim can pull the account from the distributor, they have virtually no control over the relationship between the AD and the distributor.
Service varies widely. In the UK, where there seem to be more dealers per square mile than perhaps anywhere else, there seems (from this side of the pond) to be a culture of great service, and perhaps competition keeps up the standards.
Here in the States, the distribution changed a few years ago. The current distributor seems to be very very good. Manu, their Naim brand manager, reads this forum and personally takes an interest in ensuring customers of the AD’s are happy. His first responsibility is to his dealers, but being available to us customers is a great asset.
I being upgrading through the same dealer in Sydney since 94, I wouldn’t go anywhere else. On the occasions I’ve made to wrong decision he’s alway let me swap. I live an hour north of the city and he’s often driven up to fix things (usually operator errors).
Having someone you trust is almost as important as buying the right component.
In the UK dealers that were members of BADA (British Audio Dealer’s Association) used to be a good bet having standards and code of conduct that members were required to follow.
Whatever happened to BADA?
