I dealt with two new dealers that i have never used before during the lockdown period, both via e-mail, and to be honest i was rather surprised at how professional and how quick to respond they both were. Needless to say, i ended arranging both sales purchased via a quick phone call. NDX 2 & SN3. NDX 2 sale included two trade ins via a courier paid for by the dealer both ways. That’s what i call an excellent service.
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My experience of making my first naim purchase during lockdown through a distant dealer in Norfolk was great. (I’m in Glasgow and the excellent local dealer was closed)
Initial contact was by email with a prompt reply, then purchase via phone. The nait 5 arrived in immaculate condition. Around a week later the dealer was good enough to send me my ATC SCM7s on a trial basis which I kept.
Also purchased a P2 from the local dealer when they reopened who were great via email and on phone.
Maybe you need to try a different dealer!
In fact I ended up buying the demo machine - at full price.
The dealer saw I wanted to double check the audition in a home environment
He came installed the same machine in my rack .
When I was happy, I appreciated he had gone the extra yard, that a couple of months usage was not an issue in a quality amplifier and happily paid full price.
I wasn’t underwhelmed I wasn’t overwhelmed , the dealer played fair with me and I responded in kind
I am also quite happy to make an offer when it is an internet offer and I do the installing work
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In this day and age both e-mail and phone are widely accepted forms of communication in business. I think dealers need to be aware of this and respond accordingly. The OP was searching for an ex-demo item this time, so perhaps limited margin for the dealer, but maybe in a few years he will be lucky enough to afford a 555 system. I doubt that the non-replying dealers will be on his list of potential suppliers!
Retail is a tough environment and the winners are those that follow up opportunities when presented, whether your selling expensive hifi, cars or bars of soap.
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some have infomails (or old style letters) to current customers with new/events/offers. I asked a few dealers that are nearby here and they more than happy to add me. if nothing else it resulted in visiting some demo-events.
phoning is to much work on me. sweden is a small country, many deal with expensive hifi as part-timers. when they actually finally answer they want to call you back which they do in the middle of a meeting when you cant talk to them. its just a mess.
My “local” dealer, from whom I have bought several expensive items (upgrades on NAIM items, Chord interconnects and cabling, speakers, stands) suddenly won’t respond to emails or FB messenger.
I know he’s still trading - his FB page has recent responses. Just not to me. Weird. He was the only outlet I knew of in this part of the world for NAIM but it appears, looking at his website, that NAIM equipment is no longer on offer and Spain now has no NAIM outlets at all.
Very frustrating…
In my work I estimate that 95% of communications are email and 4.99% phone, with the very occasional letter. Sometimes only phone will do, perhaps because something is too sensitive to be in writing, or because inevitably a direct discussion is needed. So etimes only email will do, e.g. because something needs to be unambiguous, or a permanent record of what was said, and when, and to whon, is needed.
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Had a shocker with my local dealer, not more than ten mins from my house - called seeking some advice, suggested I book a time and bring my kit in and we could swap bits and pieces in and out. Long story short, was pretty much told I’d need to spend a whole lot more than I was planning (I had £1500) and came out of there as if I was some sort of idiot.
A couple of weeks later I ended up buying a XS3 and ND5XS2 via a company I found online - didn’t meet them, just chatted over the phone - they could not have been more helpful to me. Four months later, I upgraded my XS3 to the SN3 - with that same company, again super helpful.
In the space of six months, I went from wanting to spend £1500 to where I am now - it’s shame my local shop (apparently well regarded) acted as they did. The new place will now get my future business - next year I’m looking at the NDX2 and some form of PSU.
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Just had some email correspondence with a St Albans based nice chap. I didn’t but for my own reasons, but James couldn’t have been more helpful. I will be back to him in the future.
During the last few years of my working career e-mail was my main method of communication, maybe not quite 95%, but certainly very significant. As a global purchasing manager it sure was a benefit for dealing with the US and FE due to time zone limitations (I was based in Switzerland).
Maybe now, in retirement, the balance has moved slightly more towards the phone, but regardless, I still expect traders to answer regardless of the communication method…no reply no business easy! It’s a tough old world where only the best survive and grow and I always reward the most helpful, even if they are not the cheapest 
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I don’t give a monkey’s about a ‘relationship’ with a dealer, or the service quality. All I care about is that the item arrives on time and is true to description. I mainly buy on research and impulse, if it sounds better I keep it, and if I’m not convinced it gets sold. Naim stuff holds its value so losses are not great. Even if I lose a little bit I don’t mind.
Perhaps I’m not old fashioned in that respect, but I don’t need the reassurance of a beaming Naim dealer to persuade me one way or the other. Yes, the sums are often large but not so much that you couldn’t recover after a sale, given resale values. If I want something and the price is right, I will pursue it through any communication that gets me first dibs.
I rate Signals not because they’re good guys (that’s a happy bi-product) but because they’re keenly priced, don’t mess about and despatch on time.
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What “further details” do you need? It’s on the website, presumably with the price (or else you’d have specifically enquired as to price).
That makes you a great customer for a dealer. They can turn their attention to others. Win - win.
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And that’s obviously totally fine, but then you also don’t expect that the dealer loans you a 10,000 EUR device for a week or two to mess around with, for free. Or lends you a replacement to tide you over when yours is in service or while you wait for the order. Which is what mine does for me.
And I never haggle out of principle, but when my dealer says “we give it to you for (considerably reduced)”, I do take it, figuring that the dealer will have done his calculations. One of his upsides I guess is that whenever a friend asks about hifi, I bring them to my dealer and don’t tell them to buy online because I know they will get great advice and service (and better than i could)
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You’re right, I really don’t expect that. I have (kind) friends enough close by with similar interests that I wouldn’t be music free should a black box need a service. There’s nothing like a simple integrated to make you appreciate what you have; I’m not desperate for continuity.
For every fuss-pot they’ll be another like me, so they’ll be plenty of attention to go around, @Bart!
I don’t “haggle” either. But I always say, “Do the best you can” No reasonable business person minds being asked, “Is that the best price you can give me?”
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I guess so, though I rarely have to make the decision whether to ask, thankfully, because I know they will do ok.
No problem with that. I guess there’s just a bit of discontent when there is an expectation of a dealer going the extra miles without the customer also doing his part. If there is no expectation on either side, all is fine.
So the first dealers advice was correct then? But instead of listening and supporting a local business you went elsewhere 
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And that can be a problem when a customer does not want to hear the truth, and/or can’t afford the level of kit to achieve their desired level of SQ. As a customer I must admit I have been in this situation and it makes you feel like an addict plotting how to get your fix.
I am not saying this is the same situation with the OP and his local dealer, but since the OP has spent more than originally intended when the local dealer was approached, there could be an element of resistance to the ‘you need to spend more to achieve your goals’ scenario.
If a dealer recognises this state of affairs with a particular customer, there are ways of handling it with honest advice and demos to make the point. A good dealer will invest that time and effort, a poor dealer will appear arrogant and condescending.
Taking a customer on a ‘journey’ is often the only way a dealer can develop a relationship that is beneficial to both parties. It takes time, empathy, patience and effort on the part of the dealer, qualities some dealer simply don’t possess. It also takes a customer who is willing to see sense and understand that great SQ can cost more than the customer originally budgeted. A great dealer will of course keep to a strict customer budget, but be willing to show what is possible, given a bigger budget. My dealers are very good at that!
It also requires a dealer to explain in plain terms the financial ramifications of taking different paths. If I had my time again I would have skipped some steps, delayed steps and accelerated other steps. If I took a more direct route to where I am now, I would have saved a lot of cash. But hindsight is a wonderful thing and, overall, I have had excellent advice from the Naim dealers I have used over the years. And, yes, the only way to assess a dealer, and for the dealer to understand a customer’s needs and wants, is to have a grown up conversation, either by phone or preferably face to face.
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