I should have read the reviews on Google before trusting this company, but this company was a referral based on what they did for a friend. He was treated very well and got a great deal on flooring and the install was good too. So, I decided to contact them about replacing my flooring on my main and upper levels of my home. The Sales Rep (Robert Medearis) worse sales rep I have ever dealt with........who came out and we went over the entire job for both floors, including the stairs. He told me to TRUST him which was my first mistake and that he would ensure everything was to my satisfaction. The first half of the project only involved the main floor. It was VERY pricy and he seemed to be telling me he was doing everything he could on pricing to get me the best deal - NOT!!!! There were errors with this half of the project. Had to get approval to do a small coat closet coming in the front door which needed some extra things from Home Depot. Then, there was a balance the installer said I owed which was NOT the case as everything was financed. Then, the Sales Rep came back out and discussed with me again the second job of the upper level and stairs, again we discussed in our initial conversation (that he doesn't remember because after I think about it, he was in such a hurry to get me to sign the contract and schedule the install with the first part, he wasn't thinking about the second part.) When he came out again for the second part, I didn't think about asking him again about the stairs because that was already discussed in our initial conversation. However, when I got the contract and went over it with Installation, I discovered Robert didn't include the stairs and had to call Empire over a half dozen times about it, only to discover that they didn't get this resolved for my install date and sent a NEW contract with NO changes and only changed the install date, without confirming with me that new date would even work. Oh, and not that it's a big deal to some, but after telling them my name a half dozen times, you would think they would get that right.....NOPE! Finally, after getting the reply from the "owner" which is actually the Social Media Dept, they did absolutely nothing and only told me to work it out with my Sales Rep. Not good customer service at all with SO many other companies out there to choose from, I am embarrassed for them. When I finally got someone to tell me how much extra the stairs would be it was the same amount as the entire upstairs!!! Finally, I just found out that what the sales rep told me about NO Payment/NO Interest for ONE year turned out to be ONLY NO Interest. Payments must still be made each month. So, once again, Robert should be fired after all of this hoopla!!! It's all been a challenge and not a good experience and I would not recommend working with this company at this time! They are high pressure, too costly, poor service, poor communication, and managers won't step in to help - Seriously????
For the second time using Empire Today, the salesperson mismeasured. There was not enough products to do the job in the time frame promised in my contract with them! I then had to take a day off work, unplanned, causing my own business to suffer and their only compensation was an offer of $50! Can not reach anyone to rectify this! No one calls or emails back! The only supervisor i was able to speak with, Liam, was rude and condescending! Terrible business practices Empire Today! I guess fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me!
The sales Rep in Phoenix Arizona voluntarily told me that laminate flooring would NOT have a hollow clicking sound when walking on it. In fact it DOES make that cheap sound. There is no way to know that until the flooring is actually installed. I requested a refund, but the company refuses. One executive told me the sound would dissipate in four months and I should call back then!!
I am shocked that such a well known company as this will not stand behind its products and representatives.
I contracted Empire today wit the sales Rep Diane to replace the floors in my house to ceramic tile flooring. They told me the job would take 3 days and that I had to be there for the job to occur. The job was scheduled for 2 weeks later at 8 am on 4/21. They made me pay for 60% of the job upfront.
On 4/21 at 830 am they called and stated that they cannot come because they dont have anyone to do my work. I had already had all my appliances disconnected and water shut off and furniture moved. I was told by the manager Luis that they can now only come on Friday 4/23. I explained to Luis that if they start the job on Friday my Coop does not allow for work on th weekeds and this would just delay but i was told that thats the only day they can come and that the workers would call me when they are on their way.
On 4/23 the workers never call and show up at my house at 830. they come in look around and start measuring. I had to move my car far away so they could park closer to my house because the vistor Lot was "too far". I went back to working and they called me downstairs at 1030 saying I had to pay for the entire job. When i looked around they hadnt even started working. I told them I had a meeting that should las 45 min and my wallet is in the car. i will get the wallet to pay in 45. they refused to start and said they were leaving and didnt come back intil 1230. they started working at 1 pm and the asked to return on Saturday. When I told him he could not work onthe weekend i was told by another manager Ruth that I was delaying the job because my coop was difficult.
They worked the next two day and told me 4/27 they would be finished by the end of the day. Then at 6 pm they tell me they are not done and need to come back tomorrow. i said I work and cant call out from work at 6 pm the night before and asked if they can come 4/29 instead and I was told no because they cant leave other customers without doing their job. They said they would not be able to come back for a week and wuold leave my house looking like a disater. Again spoke to manager Ruth who was no help and kept blaming me for not letting them work on saturday and sunday or past 6pm in my coop even though those are standard coop rules.
On the last day I do a walk through and theres cement on the walls multiple walls, broken areas on the wall near the base board that they replaced. Ive tried to call multiple times and wont answer the phone. I heard over my ring their manager telling them that the "customer is a problem, do not talk to her or answer any questions".
I sent the sales rep the pictures of the damage and noone will answer me or pic up my phone call.
It must be really easy to not be helpful or fix the damages you create when you con the customer into paying for the entire job upfront.
I called Empire because of their 50% off sale. Salesman came and showed some samples. I asked about the 50% off and he said "that only applies to hardwood flooring”. I wanted Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) so the "sale” did not apply to me. After they installed some cheap China junk, I saw the ad again and it clearly stated LVT was included. I called Empire and no one was able to explain. They just told me they didn’t know and the only person in the company that did know was out of town.
Finally after 4 days the original salesman called me and said the only LVT that the sale applied to was xxx line and it had a "do not sell” order on it. So, I said that means that no LVT was included in the sale. He said that’s not true so I asked which is on sale and he couldn’t answer me. Then I asked for the company policy or whatever it was that excluded me and was told he would email it to me. Of course he didn’t send anything, including any warranty information.
After paying almost $20 per square foot for plastic junk I wish I had gone to Home Depot. Has anyone received 50% off? United States
We purchased a home in November 2018 and called Empire Carpet out for a quote on flooring. During our consultation we opted to replace only the carpeting throughout the h*o.e as the cost was way more than what we were expecting. Within a week of signing our contract we had carpeting installed in our home. Everything looked to be okay and here we are less than 2 years later and the carpeting was coming up where the carpet met the tile.
I reached out to my sales rep and was advised everything was still covered under warranty. When I reached out to have someone come repair the carpet I was et with pushback. Eventually they sent a technician out and while they were here all areas were addressed except by the front door. When they attempted to fix the carpet there they had to stop - they informed us that the carpet was cut too short and that when trying to stretch it it started to fray.
The technician advised us that the carpet was delaminating because the carpet was cut short. When we were contacted by the main office we were immediately met with resistance about the carpet. They tried to blame us for the delamination saying that when our carpets were cleaned we used too much water. Mind you I've been cleaning my own carpets for over 10 years and have never had anything else like this. They refused to submit a claim to the manufacturer because I am not able to produce a receipt for my carpet cleaner. I provided a copy of my warranty, which shows the date of purchase, but they refuse to accept it.
Special offer that cost a lot of money. Discount did not match the TV commercial. Had 4 rooms and 4 closets of carpet installed. The only rooms the carpet has not lifted from are the closets and the living room floor because we have a decorative carpet on top of the living room floor and we don't walk really in the closets.
All other carperts are lifting everywhere and it's only been approximately a year and a half. The problem also includes, warranty runs out in a year. Wow! You have to pay to have carpet streteched. I'm stil paying and will be paying for a couple more years on the new carpet and installation. Don't do it if you expect to be walking on your carpets for over a year and lucky we don't have a large family.
Empire Today is not an honorable business. There is even a support group for People that have been burnt. They act like bunglers that want you to pay for their mistakes. They gave me a exorbitant price which in foolishness I agreed to.
SO, next they send a team to pull up the flooring and decide its more work than the first one anticipated and want more money. I like a dope agreed. Next, unbelievably they prepare the floor but had cut the vinyl the wrong length.
When they come back they want me to pay more because their prep got ruined. They miss appointments and do disgusting business practices. Please share everywhere so no one else gets stung by these unscrupulous people. I am 73 and think this may be senior abuse.
Empire Today installed new laminate in entire house except master bedroom, new carpet in there. After they finished the 1st day (about half done) they left DUST everywhere! They were sawing the laminate in my home!
The furniture was all over & I couldn't even walk in the home. Next time I told installer about dust & he did not care. He hardly spoke english! After 3 days, they came back & finished & left DUST EVERYWHERE, including the garage!
It took me 2 days to clean all the dust off of EVERYTHING I own!! I;m still cleaning all my equipment in garage !Luckily, I covered my computer. Also, they stole my painter's tape, 2 rolls & car wax from garage, as well as expensive window cleaner.
Empire today is terrible, installers had no respect for my property & they over-charged me! I had agreed to $6500 & I was charged $7600.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR & STAY CLEAR OF "EMPIRE TODAY"!!! I tried calling & it is a joke, so I'm stuck cleaning home & garage for 3 days & counting!!
In 2018, we hired Empire Today to install a carpet in a large, 2-room basement area of the empty home we’d just purchased. The installers charged us $600 for new padding, but never installed the padding. They put new carpet over the old padding and kept our money. We discovered this the following winter, when water damage forced us to pull up a small section of the new carpet.
Empire informed us that the entire carpet needed to be replaced if we wanted to keep our warranty. This was a huge problem because the basement was now fully-furnished and contained over $50,000 of fragile electronic equipment which would have to be moved. After a fight, Empire agreed to do the re-installation for free.
Since we didn’t trust a carpet crew to move the very expensive equipment while they worked, we agreed on a 2-day installation. We would clear one room for them on day 1, then move all of the equipment to the first room, clearing the second room for them to work before they arrived on day 2. No problem.
They arrived on day 1 and completed the first room, but they didn’t leave. The carpet crew proceeded to move all of that equipment themselves and finish the second room, completing the job in 1 day for their own convenience. I discovered this only when they were nearly finished. I yelled for them to stop but the foreman literally refused. It was very difficult to communicate with them, they spoke broken English or none at all. Frustrated, I resigned to let them finish the job.
The crew left our belongings in large, disorganized piles throughout the basement, some of which fell over and collapsed. I photographed all of it and notified the company the same day.
After several days of inventorying the mess, I discovered several thousand dollars in damages to equipment and furniture. The job itself was notably poorer than the first installation but that’s the least of our concerns, and we’re not allowing this company back into our home for repairs.
The company was completely unresponsive to phone calls and emails for weeks at a time. It’s very important to persist throughout this period, which appears to be this company’s standard operating procedure for claims and complaints. It’s now been months and this company continues to deny any wrongdoing – but they’ve offered us a small monetary fraction of the damages “for inconveniences.”
The crew has lied about their conduct and misrepresented the condition of our home in their photographs, using “after” photos as “before” photos (yet neglecting to provide both sets for us). We have photo proof to the contrary, of course, and this will be an easy case in court. But the negligence, fraud, theft and destruction for which Empire Today has been responsible throughout this 10-month ordeal has been tremendously frustrating for us.
Find a local crew for your flooring, stay away from Empire.
If you order anything other than the cheap/basic/economy padding, the installers won't put it in. Instead, they put in the cheap padding. I didn't pay attention when they installed, but had to cut back some carpet to install flooring and noted that the padding put it was NOT what I had ordered --
I had the premium spill-proof/pet-proof padding. Then the resolution is that they'll replace the padding, but YOU need to move everything out of the room for the installers to replace... or give you $100-150 refund on the "difference in price" for the padding. Which is BS. I warned my friend about it (whom I had referred to Empire unaware I had been ripped off) and they were doing the SAME THING, except he caught it the day of the install. But the installers were like, "well, this is what the warehouse gave us.
We can either install it today or reschedule." My friend was moving in in two days and needed the carpet, so he caved and let them install the crap padding and would then work out something with Corporate. THIS IS A SCAM. Do not buy from Empire unless you only buy the cheap stuff. And stay strong with your conviction of them wronging you. They try to frustrate you until you just give up (like Comcast). Take to the review pages. Take it to their Facebook page, bbb.org. Keep up the good fight.
Can not believe the experience I have had with this company. After instillation of hard wood floors I noticed issues with the quarter round trim. After further inspection the trim wasn't even nailed to the baseboard. Reported to customer service. First installer that was to come do repairs was a no show. Second installer did show but glued "some" pieces of trim together. Third attempt was to request an inspector to come look at the unaccecptable work done...they had me wait on them for 12 hours and decided to send another installer. Contacted customer service and was treated as an inconvience buy rep. Contacted Corporate only to be sent back to the same rude customer service rep from my area. Have been waiting on a return call to resolve issues. One has not been received.
I paid alot of money to have the floors done. I have incurred cost with having to miss work, spend my Saturdays with installers and spend much of my time making phone calls and sending repeated emails to resolve an issue that should have been done correctly in the first place.
There should be credit given to accounts that have to deal with these issues repeatedly. I gave them the opportunity to fix it the first time. And a second time. It is past rediculous!
Empire flooring flooded my home. They tried to put flooring over the water and when I refused and requested they have a manager come to my home they stopped answering my calls and emails. They would not take responsibility for the damage and after water sitting for days I was left with no other choice but to call my insurance and file a claim so that my insurance company could go after them. They are still holding 7500 of my money for work that wasnt completed. When we inspected the materials they had left behind at my home we found used/open boxes with cut and broken pieces they had intended to install. The work that was done is unprofessional and sloppy. Dealing with this company has been nothing short of a nightmare and they dont return phone calls.
In 2016 i made an appt for Empire today to come and give me an estimate of new carpeting for my living room, which i also asked to pay and use the best linner. The carpet after 2 years started to bulge in areas, i called Empire and was told that the install was only a one year warranty. I agreeded to ap again $105.00 for them to come and fix the problem...They made the appt...but i look them up and found thousands of complaints filed....
I still went a head and made the appt was told tech would arrive between the hours of 8 to 8 p.m...I was called by an auto machine the day of appt to confirem...I waitied till 3 p.m called to find out status and was told they could not reach tech..At 4:45 p.m a c/s person called and assured me the tech was on his way and would arrive at 5:15 to %:30...I waited at 5:45 the tech called and asked that i re schedule the apptment cause he was tired had 2 jobs and was in an area not close to me , i asked him were he was and it was 15 min away...he assured me he would be by me soon, ...15 min later a c/s person cvalled to cancel appt cause tech could not make it....I wait all day 9 hrs to be called and told to reschedule, took a day off and had my wife cancel her appt to help in any furnture moving...we moved almost all the items in the living room to get a call at the last min ...with no proper handling of the way this was done ..."A TECH CALLS SAYS HES ON HIS WAY...HE'S TIRED...HE HAS TO GPS TO ME ) I advised him he was 15 min no more from me ...he even said the way i explained the job it would take 20 min...This is not the kind of service a Company should have ...be when they farm out work and then try and tell the public how they handle the work ...The dept of Consumer Affairs in the state the operate should pull there license based on the complaints.....
I will never use or advisde anyone to use there service , and if at any time given the way to file a review i will...
I wanted to share our recent in-home estimate experience from Empire Today. We contacted them through their website for an estimate on laminate flooring for the first floor of our home (approx. 1000sq.ft.) after seeing the special of "Buy 1 room, Get 2 free". We appear to be a young couple and this is our starter home in a young family community. The appointment was very convienent to scedule and someone was able to come by the very next day. This was the end of the pleasant part of our experience.
We wanted to replace our engineered Hardwood floors with possibly laminate as there has been a huge problem with the poly adhearing to the wood floors. It peels off the floor and more sticks to your feet than where it should actually be. We also have carpeting in our living room by the backdoor of our home and with 2 dogs, the carpeting has become stained due to wet springs and winters.
The gentleman arrived about 45 minutes after the beginning of our time window (5:00pm-7:00pm) but was very quick to state that when we are asked during the follow up experience survey phone call that he was within his time frame. Due to this, the appointment ran much later than expected (8:15pm) delaying our schedules. Throughout the evening he continued to tell us what we would be asked during the follow up phone call and then tell us what to say.
We first were given the entire speech about how great the company is and blah, blah, blah. After a full day of work, understandably my husband was rather impatient and ready just to get to business and pick some flooring.
When asked about our budget I informed the salesman that he was our first estimate and since this was our first reno we didn't have too good of an idea of costs but were hoping to keep it around $5,000. (I still don't know if this is a good starting point for laminate flooring as we are expecting our next estimate tomorrow.) I explained that our neighbor recently had new floors installed in their home and since we have the same floor plan we were expecting to spend around the same or slightly more than they spent since we would be including the kitchen, something they did not upgrade.
The longer the gentleman talked the more obvious the pitch became too good to be true. He went on and on about how the installation is where Empire will be doing such a superior job which is why they won't be the lowest bid. I am ok with not getting the cheapest as long as it is quality workmanship. After we discussed the budget, we could tell the estimate would be HIGH because the salesman stated we should only refloor one room now and after we save up more money they will come back and do another and so on, piece by piece, room by room.
Now even though this is the first time I have been incharge of getting new floors picked and installed doesn't mean I have never dealt with flooring before and anyone with a brain knows better than to do his plan as the flooring color would risk the chance of not matching since it was from a different batch of flooring planks. But in order to move forward and get on with it we agreed to only have him measure the master bedroom, dressing area and closet (just to get an idea of the cost since it would be about 1/3 of the entire area that we would opbviously be flooring with someone else) which came out to 287 by his estimate. I also knew he had mismeasured since I have the floor plans and exact measurements, like I said not the first time I have been around a floor reno. He also suggested we could pick multiple types of laminate for the different rooms (bedroom, living room and dining which flow together. In an open floor plan can you imagine what that would do to the home resale value!
As he measured, myhusband and I looked at the choices and picked 3. Only 1 of which I didn't detest. We were given 3 sample books (high end, mid grade and, the stuff of special) that had a grand total of 12 choices. Each book had very dark colors, a medium color, and a very light color, we wanted a medium color. Of the 3 choices we picked for our estimate only 1 was what I would consider a medium color.
The pitch then continued after he measures the room. He stated how superior the installation and warranty were and that since this isn't our forever home the warranty is transferable to future owners, a major selling bonus. That about pushed me over the edge since I know how rare that is, and by pushed me over the edge I just about laughed at him.
*FYI after he left I googled the flooring and warranty information which was on Empire's website and it clearly states that it only covers the purchaser and is NOT transferable. So aside from the pitch and lack of choices, the salesman was outright lying just to make a sale.
Here comes the best part:
The estimates were for 287 sq. feet. All choices were 7mm laminate.
Choice 1: the nice stuff $5,769.95 ($20.10/sqft)
Choice 2: ehhh $5,189.10 ($18.08/sqft)
Choice 3: the junk on special reg. price $4,789.95 ($16.69/sqft) or on sale for $3,334.50 ($11.62/sqft)
Can you imagine the anurism that nearly happened in our dining room upon hearing this?
We politely declined the numerous offers including the 15% educator discount on the choices that weren't on special as well as the reduction on the flooring that was on special since we are "so nice and were such a lovely couple" (don't ya love those types of discounts!). So as I did the math in my head it would have cost $20,000+ for the choice I could have lived with for only 1000 sq.ft.!
The salesman continued to try to persuade us to sign a contract at that time which was now well past his 7pm time window and went to "make a call for us". His manager then approves him to sell us the junk on special for $2490. That's a 48% reduction in price!
Now aside from this being our first estimate, I was not about to sign anything due to the lack of choices and the pressure in his voice. He then tried one last time to get us to buy with the infamous try the old "guilt trip" move. While I was empathetic that you believe your trip home will take 1.5 hours even though I know the area and its about 50 minutes away, and I also pity that you will have to wake up at 4am to drive to Charleston for a conference guilt trips won't work on me. My husband is a former Marine and I am an elementary school teacher. If I can say no to children and stick with it even though they have the most precious little faces, I can assure you I will be able to stick with my decision not to buy anything yet. My husband got a good laugh from this after he left at watching his "stone cold wife shut him down" (as he put it).
The following day (being the nerd/teacher who is able to do basic math that I am), I sat down and did a few caluculations.
For the Flooring on special, the initial price would have been $4,789.95 and the special took off 2/3 the supply cost -$1,455.45. So in total the supplies would cost $2,183.18 for 287 sq ft! That's $7.61 per sqft, I still havn't found a retail price that high for 7mm laminate not installed.
I then determined the precentage of total cost that is supply cost (45.6%) versus installation/operating cost (54.4%). I used this scale later when comparing there costs with a Lumber Liquidation store and with the amount my neighbor spent on flooring for their home.
When the price was reduced to $2490 ($8.68/ sqft) the "lowest they could offer" the supply cost was comparable to retail price for 12mm laminate with attached pad. I still couldn't justify this cost for only the bedroom; aside from the price I knew that if they are able to reduce the price almost 50% that money is coming from the markup somewhere and the installers are going to be paid crumbs compared to the amounst Empire would receive.
Since our meeting I have been looking into some of the flooring offered and I have come to find they have a 4x's the amount markup for the IDENTICAL flooring at retail price. This would lead one to also assume this is the markup on the "labor and operating cost". I may have even been tempted a little at sale price for supplies but for the saleman to mark down so quickly and so much from such a high number and to know that mark down was not solely coming off the supply cost but also the installation cost, I would not feel right accepting it.
My husband says the best part of the entire pitch was the "if you sign now we will also waive the lock your price in now fee and you will get a free Mr. Empire bobble head! If we had purchased our floors with you and with that bobble head constantly looking at me head nodding saying, "you're a broke dummy". I then would really hate myself and not just hate I wasted 2 hours listening to the entire schpeel!
In the end we will most likely be buying from our local flooring store and having a local installer do the installation, something I truely wanted to do from the get go. And we will probably spend $1,000's less and get a higher quality laminate even though the salesman did try to convince me that "12mm laminate was not better than 7mm", that 2 dogs won't be able to destroy their product because it was "astounding and waterproof because they could line the inside of a swimming pool with it if we wanted to".
I don't know if they thought I was young and stupid or hoped I wouldn't follow up on other estimates, but I suspect they hope I'm stupid.
Honestly, if they expect to remain in business they need to get their sales practices under control and they don't need to treat potential consumers like they are idiots. I may not be the oldest person to buy flooring (28yrs old) but my mama didn't raise no fool! I know when I'm being lied to and to think laminate is waterproof and I know when a pitch sounds too good to be true that it probably is.
First of all everything that the sales rep said was totally wrong.. She said one day install and that was far from truth. She said to contact her if any problems but she never responded to inquiries. She also mis-measured our carpet amount. Carpet was supposed to be installed 1st thing on Monday morning. They were a no show so it took 4 calls to finally get a response. Installers showed at 11 am and were there until 8:30 pm. Since the rep mis-measured we were told 1-2 days to get rest in. UNTRUE.. several days later and still installers were late arriving. We were told the stairs would be completed on Saturday but the installers never showed AGAIN.... Then we were todl stairs on Thursday morning supposedly 1st thing in the morning. No show AGAIN. finally installers show at 5:30pm
This comapany lies. They are unresponsive. You will wast more time taking timeoff of work for installers that are totally unrealiable. WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. They could care less. Also, wanted to speak to headquarters Custoemr service. I left two messages requesting Urgent Call for discussion..l NO RETUN CALL>
Having positive experiences with Empire's carpet installation in the past, my wife and I decided to use them for a small custome window treatment for our new how - two sets of vertical blinds for slider windows. The first sales appointment set for their "free in home estimate" - which according to their website includes measuring - was completely missed. No phone call, no email...nothing. I had to call them to find out why. They said they had no reps available in the area that day, apologized, and rescheduled for the following week.
At the second appointment, the rep arrives on time, and after picking out our blinds, and taking measurments, we are quoted a price of nearly triple what we had found elsewhere such as Blinds.com, or DiscountBlinds.com. Even after being offered "coupons", the price was still more than double the alternatives: $1200 for a set of blinds that would cost at or less $500 elsewhere. For some dumb reason we decided to put down a deposit anyway - $400. The sales rep noted that an installer would be out in a few days to take final measurements - no mention of this being a separate cost.
Three days later, the installer shows up, takes some measurements and leaves, spending all of 20 minutes inside our house. The following week he calls and says the blinds are ready and we schedule an installation appointment... which again is never met. I call the Empire Today customer service and they say they have no record of the installation or the installer, much less the appoinment. At this point I tell them I want to cancel the order and requested a refund of my deposit. I was told that would be okay and they would process the refund. A week later, not having seen the refund posted to my account, I call Empire's customer service, and they say the refund was processed as a flooring installation, not window treatment, and had to reprocess the refund. --- NO MENTION AT ANY TIME OF THE COST OF MEASUREMENT...
The week after cancelling, I get an call from the installer saying the blinds are ready and to schedule an installation. I inform him that I have since cancelled the order with Empire. He was never informed of the cancellation. I told him it was this apparent lack of communication and coordination which led me to cancel the order. At this point, I still have not received my refunded deposit. After talking to the installer, I called Empire to let them know the installer was not aware of the cancellation. They thanked me and said they would follow up.
I waited two more weeks for Empire to "process" my refund...having not received it THREE WEEKS after the fact, I called and requested to speak to a manager. The customer service manager I spoke with had to put me on hold while they called "their people" to find out what was going on. After a lengthy call, I was finally informed that I would be issued a partial refund of $245. They would be withholding $155 for the cost of the measuring...Why was that not disclosed from the beginning? I was never told the followup measurment would be charged. It now feels that they are finding some excuse to make any sort of money off of me.
I highly recommend that you find any other alternative to Empire. It has been three weeks since I cancelled and have yet to receive a refund.
We purchased carpet in Sept 2017. Right away we had issues. The salesguy told us this carpet would never in 20 years show signs of wear/packing. So we purchased. We called 3 weeks later because the seam is in the middle of the room and sticks out like a sore thumb. (Literally looks like someone drew a line down our room) No one called us back after numerous messages. Finally in Novemeber we got a call back. They scheduled to come in Dec and at this point we told them there was even more concern as there were path marks where we walk. Installer never showed to fix seem. We then got a call in January and finally on the 3rd appointment they showed. They had to pull out carpet up because they left garbage underneath. They attempted to fix seam and was unable. Installer said it appeared that the reason it was so visible was that the carpet halves looked to be 3 different shades of gray. They then sent out another person to "inspect" and that guy said it looked frayed and was now a warranty issue that needed to be covered by Mohawk. Never heard a word until a CSR called to see if we would like to upgrade...I said No, I would like you to send someone to fix the problems we already have with our now 6 mo old carpet. They send another guy out in March who spends 10 min in our home. Inspection report comes back that we need to vacuum more (I guess daily isn't enough) he said in the report that our carpet needs cleaned..I guess we should shampoo our carpet daily now as well..because obviously when it's not needed you aren't going to hire professionals to come clean your carpet when it's less than 6 mo old and not dirty.
The general manager Bryan Pawlenty who is very rude and unprofessional called us back and laughed at us and said that it's like owning a car (as if we are 12) and without good maintenance things don't last...so unless you vacuum 24 hrs a day do not purchase anything from these crooks. He said the inspector ran numerous tests (taking a picture with his phone and playing with my 1 yr old son is hard work evidently)They will belittle you and talk down to you (because empire is god's work obviously) they will not stand behind their warranty let alone their work or their word. You are $$ signs to them and that is all. He did say they would replace it If we PAID for it. He then said I'll send you the warranty info...because that does us no good now that they won't honor it. We have file complaints with the BBB who Bryan Pawlenty says they have such a great rating with nothing will hurt them ...ya I'm sure the other 2000 complaints in the last 36 months are truly not hurting his smug self. Buyer beware, they will say everything to get you to buy (we spent 3k on our living room and hallway) and then laugh because they know they screwed you over.
I used Empire for a home I purchased in August 2017. The home was empty and Brian K sales person came out and measured. Brian K said the carpet I chose was the best,padding was the best.10 year warrenty,would not stain,I would not see spots appear due to quality of Carpet and padding. $8000.00. I approved and installation was set.
Install had some very noticable seams,installer said they would "settle" give it a few months.
I had carpet cleaned and noticed these spots appearing,carpet graying and called Empire.
Kyle from Empire came out said carpet should not be so warn after 7 months and carpet had graying. He took samples pictures.
Called 7 times to Kyle no return call.
4 weeks later after 6 calles to Empire they send A-1st Carpet Impressions out,Steven took pictures Carpet samples and said it would go to manufacture Mohawk.
Weeks go by and I get a call from Empire, Mohawk said carpet is fine and we will not replace. But wait Brain had told ne no questions asked,if a stain doesnt come up we will replace. She said we will offer you free labor if you purchase carpet. Are you kidding me I just spent 8k on carpet which did not last 7 months and you want me to purchase again? I requested that she send it to me in writing (which she has not) I also have left two messages for Brian to call me ,I would like to know why he lied to me and what he is going to do to help this situation. No return calls.
How can any company not honor a warrenty ,allow dishonest sales people to work for their company and rip off a consumer, I have not finished with this and will continue until this gets resolved. This is horrible treatment and a horrible company. I have contacted a local news station in hopes for resolution if nothing else get this dishonet company on camera. I will be email all the corporate officers to see if possibly they are blind and unaware of the way consumers are treated.
On April 2, 2018 I met with a salesman of Empire Today to select carpet. He was pleasant, professional and helpful.
Due to a busy install schedule the carpet could not be installed until April 13th. I agreed to the date and 1130 install time. I had to take the day off work for the install and it was important for them to be punctual. The scheduler called me at 10:30am and stated that they were on the way. At 11:30 I called and again, I was told they were on the way. I waited all day and did not receive a call until 330 from an installer that claimed he was at my house when in fact he was not! I continued to attempt to contact a manager and did not receive a call until 530pm. The manager identified himself as Chris Miori. Despite being a manager Chris was unable to provide me a reason why they were a no call no show. He was unable to provide me any information at all.
Chris claimed he was only able to offer me a $86 dollar credit. I was shocked after taking a day off work and a no call no show that $86 was his offer of resolution. After all Chris is the General Manager, he should be able to do more and must have some idea of what happened, but apparently not. I declined use Empire Today and told him we could cancel the contract. I told him I would go to RC Willey or another reputable company in the area. I told him I did not want to continue doing business with them and canceled the order.
The following day I received a call the following day from another manager. He was apologetic and stated that he could have an installer there on April 19th. An installer would be there between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. He explained that Chris was aware of this and was hopeful to retain the business. In addition I was told they would also give me an area rug, and an additional $50 off. Specifically the rug would be a piece of carpet that could be used as a rug but due to the company not having a binding machine it would not be binded. I agreed to give the company another try.
On April 19th I waited for the arrival and once again no one showed up at 3:00pm as Chris and the other manger promised. It was not until 8:00pm that the installer showed up after a plethora of calls to Chris. Once again Chris despite being the manager had no explanation of why they did not show up. The installer who clearly was unaware of all the issues began his work and was very polite. A few minutes into the job he alerted me that he was not provided enough material for the job and would have to come back another day, but he would finish what he could with the material he had. At 930pm I told him that my family needed to go to sleep. I attempted to call Chris but he did not answer. The following day Chris informed me that he was asleep when I had called. I was shocked by his response of sleeping when his customer and his installer were still dealing with the job.
The following day Chris explained that they needed to send the installer with more material. He was scheduled a third time for Saturday April 21st.
Throughout the process I spoke with a manager located in Chicago by the name of Angelica. She attempted to bridge the lines of communication and I was told since she was from corporate that she had more authority to help rectify the situation. I felt this was ridiculous for many reasons, she was in Chicago thus a time zone challenge, and second, Chris was a local General Manager of the area. Additionally the communication between the Chicago corporate office and local office was inaccurate, they were not communicating. This was evident after Angelica was able to provide me with an additional $50 discount, for a total discount of $130, when I was presented with the bill from the installer he was on the phone for 20 minutes because the discount was not reflected on the account.
It took four weeks to complete the job. One no call or show from an installer, and two additional trip to complete installation. Two days of work that I took off for installation and countless calls between local and corporate management. The rug they promised was a piece of uneven, odd shaped scrap that was left over from the my job, this piece would have been discarded after the job.
Upper management is clearly insulated by lower sub-par supervisors. When problems arise lower supervisors are neither empowered nor savvy enough to authorize compensation or solve the problems. Amazingly Chris the local General manger failed to even follow up or come in person to check the work that was performed after all the problems.
The company touts affiliations of reputable business agencies and services but in no way shape or form shares the levels of commitment and service. My hope in taking the time to share my experience is to prevent others becoming victims of Empire Today. I would sooner walk on a dirt floor before using Empire Today for any flooring needs.
It's been two months of constant aggressive advocation for my family on our part, by weekly phone calls to floor supervisors in Texas by the name of Anna and Saul, without any appropriate followup from the Michigan office.
We have been told that they will "discount" a new carpet throughout our home because "sunlight" may have caused the random discoloration in patches of our home (present upon installation, and getting progressively worse). Gray carpet was installed 7/15 and had sublte areas of violet discolored patches in dining area and master bedroom, dining area patches have more than doubled in size and changing from violet to hot pink.
Major lack of integrity in this company and their warranties.
The floor supervisors have yet to give me a contact for their supervisor.
We hired Empire Today out of Dotaville, GA on November 20, 2017 to install carpeting in my master on the main, staircase to the second floor and all second floor bedrooms. During negotiations, we brought to the attention of Todd Lipton, the Sales Rep., that we were in poor health condition and could not move heavy furniture. We went room-by-room detailing what the installers would move. Secondly, I was concerned about the use of subcontractors on the job. He assured me that a foreman would be present throughout the entire job. He also stated we would be the only job of the day and that they would pick up the carpeting at the warehouse and come directly to our job, siting it would be a
full day job and possibly a few hours the following day. Well, on installation day, I got a recorded phone call from Empire Today stating that the installers were on another job first and that they could not give me a definitive time as to when they would arrive at my home.
I called Todd expressing extreme disappointment. He told me to simply remain patient and let them do their job. I expressed the concern about arriving late and doing damage to my house for the sake of finishing the job. I got a hold of Ryan, the owner of the subcontracting company, who promised me that a "crew” would be there by noon and that a second "crew” would arrive between 2:00-3:00. He said that he
would not be present at the job, but would come for a final walk-through at the end of the job. Again, I called Todd Lipton stating that the owner was not going to be present on the job. Todd changed his story to say that an "experienced” installer would be in the job. Well, the experienced installer had only been with the company for less than two months, this according to the installer. In addition, the first "crew” consisted of this person there less than two months, the other installer that demolished my staircase, and a cleaning woman that did not clean. At 3:00, when the other group failed to arrive, I called Ryan and he said the second group was not needed. I said it most definitely
was. The installers finished my job at 7:45pm that evening. My staircase has $1,100 in damage, I had to replace furniture that I was not suppose to. Finally, the owner/installer never came by for a final walk through. I never to this day received documentation that I was suppose to receive upon completion of installation on care and maintenance of the carpeting for warranty purposes. I have, or was, in contact with Dawn Lee in customer service who promised me they would work swiftly and amicablyto resolve this issue. I have called and texted her a number of times in recent weeks and she has not had the decency to return any calls. I am asking for the $1,100 in repairs and a $500
credit toward my purchase for having to do things to restore my house back to normal that were not part of my contract. This while job from start to customer complaints has been dealt with disgracefully by Empire Today. I asked the installers had they had a lunch break. They said no. They were loading carpet onto the truck at 8:00 that day until finishing up at 7:45 that evening, nearly a twelve hour non-stop workday for them. It is no wonder that damage was done.
On 11/1/17 I entered into a contract with Empire for flooring and installation. My installation was scheduled for 11/15/17. I had a responsible adult there to represent me and meet the installation team. My representative was told the installation couldn't be done. A language barrier (on the part of the installation team) prevented comprehensive understanding of the flooring issue. I repeatedly attempted to contact Empire. I wanted a document stating why the installation could not happen, listing the issues that needed to be resolved to complete my flooring. I also requested copies of the photos that the installation team took of my flooring. I specifically asked for an email message instead of a phone call. I have sent at least 4 Web Customer Service requests. I have made numerous phone calls to customer service. Each call to customer service assures me that I should be contacted in 24 business hours.
I received neither email message nor phone call.
The only person that responds to me is the initial sales rep that measured my home and brought flooring samples to choose from. This employee has stated that he has attempted to reach out to managers on my behalf.
I am in a position where i have no idea what needs to be corrected in order to move forward.
We hired Empire Today out of Dotaville, GA on November 20, 2017 to install carpeting in my master on the main, staircase to the second floor and all second floor bedrooms. During negotiations, we brought to the attention of Todd Lipton, the Sales Rep., that we were in poor health condition and could not move heavy furniture. We went room-by-room detailing what the installers would move. Secondly, I was concerned about the use of subcontractors on the job. He assured me that a foreman would be present throughout the entire job. He also stated we would be the only job of the day and that they would pick up the carpeting at the warehouse and come directly to our job, siting it would be a
full day job and possibly a few hours the following day. Well, on installation day, I got a recorded phone call from Empire Today stating that the installers were on another job first and that they could not give me a definitive time as to when they would arrive at my home.
I called Todd expressing extreme disappointment. He told me to simply remain patient and let them do their job. I expressed the concern about arriving late and doing damage to my house for the sake of finishing the job. I got a hold of Ryan, the owner of the subcontracting company, who promised me that a "crew” would be there by noon and that a second "crew” would arrive between 2:00-3:00. He said that he
would not be present at the job, but would come for a final walk-through at the end of the job. Again, I called Todd Lipton stating that the owner was not going to be present on the job. Todd changed his story to say that an "experienced” installer would be in the job. Well, the experienced installer had only been with the company for less than two months, this according to the installer. In addition, the first "crew” consisted of this person there less than two months, the other installer that demolished my staircase, and a cleaning woman that did not clean. At 3:00, when the other group failed to arrive, I called Ryan and he said the second group was not needed. I said it most definitely
was. The installers finished my job at 7:45pm that evening. My staircase has $1,100 in damage, I had to replace furniture that I was not suppose to. Finally, the owner/installer never came by for a final walk through. I never to this day received documentation that I was suppose to receive upon completion of installation on care and maintenance of the carpeting for warranty purposes. I have, or was, in contact with Dawn Lee in customer service who promised me they would work swiftly and amicablyto resolve this issue. I have called and texted her a number of times in recent weeks and she has not had the decency to return any calls. I am asking for the $1,100 in repairs and a $500
credit toward my purchase for having to do things to restore my house back to normal that were not part of my contract. This while job from start to customer complaints has been dealt with disgracefully by Empire Today. I asked the installers had they had a lunch break. They said no. They were loading carpet onto the truck at 8:00 that day until finishing up at 7:45 that evening, nearly a twelve hour non-stop workday for them. It is no wonder that damage was done.
I have reported Empire to the BBB and the state. I have scheduled 3 appointments for a repair of the defective blinds I purchased (+$1,000) and each time there was a no call or no show. I have called and have not had my calls returned to me. I have taken off of work on three occasions for their serviceman and nothing. Empire Today is one of the worst, unreliable, and dishonest companies I have ever dealt with.
I called the company in September about my carpet coming apart at the seam. October 13, installers came out and said it wasn't the seam after they tore it up more. They stated carpet is falling apart because I steam cleaned my carpet.
Today I am told that voids the warranty. Then I was told that if I have a professional cleaning receipt they would look into it.
I told them no where did it state you can not steam clean. If they had no one would buy their carpet. I told them if it falls apart like that then their carpet is junk. I have never heard of carpet not being able to be cleaned.
Chris Nelson at Empire today sold me carpet and installation in our commercial building. Including furniture removal. They no showed 2 times. Failed to complete the job 2 times in addition. I finally had to hire furniture removal separately. Chris would not return calls and or texts. I have spent nearly 5 hours on hold and or talking with the cooperate office. They do not return calls and or follow through. At this point carpet is still not installed causing several thousand in delays. Avoid business with Empire today at all costs
Per the contract signed on 07/27/2017 with Empire Today, activity ID 1- 2738624507, the company was supposed to install Newport 3.25 hardwood for 2 rooms: living room and dining room in my house at Woodridge, IL 60517. However, the installation was done with a sub-standard and inferior quality hardwood, namely, Armstrong Bruce 3.25, APK3416LG.
The installation was completed on 08/01/2017, and from the day one, I have started observing multiple scratches and chippings all over the newly installed floor. Accordingly, I have called Empire Today to visit and to address the issues. The company has asked the installer to do a touch up work which has been completed. However, even after the touch up, I have observed new scratches, marks, and chippings. Meanwhile I researched the (installed) Armstrong Bruce hardwood complaints on the internet and I have found that it’s a sub-standard and inferior quality hardwood which is easily susceptible to scratches and chippings!
Upon making further contacts with the Empire Today Customer Relation section, the company has sent an inspector for having a fresh review and assessment of the repair issues.
They have agreed to replace about fifteen (15) plus wooden planks and an offer of $ 500 for the inconvenience. I have turned down this offer, as it would only address the current problems but not the major issue of installing an inferior and sub-standard quality wood which is susceptible to marks, scratches, and chips off. Moreover, replacing a few of those wooden planks is more destructive and is not a seamless operation. I have asked them for a simpler solution – to provide a Buff and two coats of water based polyurethane coats which could shield the surface from further chips off and marks. Empire Today has tried to offer a 20% refund towards repair and the inconvenience, however, it was turned down on the basis that for getting a Buff and Coat, I would be spending at least an amount of $ 1200 or so, which is just the bare cost of getting the defective and inferior quality wood faults embedded with a ployurethane shield and do not prop up again and again!
Carpet installed 4 years ago and is now excessivly worn in a large part of the carpet. I have contacted the company several time and when they finally got back to me they requested that I have the carpeting professionally cleaned even though I regualarly clean the carpet with my home machine. I reluctantly agreed to do this and called Stanley Steemer to clean it.
When Stanley Steemer came out they did indeed clean the carpet and at that time advised me that the area I thought was just stained was actually not stained but rather it was the shadow effect of the backing on the carpet showing through due to excessive wear.
I email Ms. Anthony about this along with before and after photo's in August 2017 and advised her of the report I received from Stanley Steemer. I specifically requested that she call my cell phone and the number they had on file was no longer monitored. As of September 2017 I have not received a response. I emailed again and again asked her to call me and a few minutes later the email returned with the message address rejected. I do not know if she does not work there anymore or are they blocking my email address.
I will call one last time and if no response I will be forced to file a small claims lawsuit against Empire Today.
Purchased EMPIREs carpet and laminate for $5000, 2 days to get this done, day one, recieved a call from customer services indicating the sales person ED didnt set it up correctley and they couldnt do the carpet due to the liablity of installing only 1 and not the other, mind you i already took a day off with out pay. and was told they had an excellent crew to do both. Today 2nd day was called at 730AM that we were 1st stop and would be at our house in 1-2 hours and its is now 11:30AM and the driver doesnt have the tools to do laminate, he was not told to do both and he would have to come out a 2nd day.
Oh wait, the dirver indicated he didnt know the house had furniture and that he only had his nephew to move a 4 bedroom house. Now my husband has to help move and they want us to pay at the end of the completion. WOW
not to mention today is my 11 old son bday, now we are stuck all day at home.
Im very upset at this point, called the sales guy Ed, who has been with the compay for over 35 yrs. and now he isnt returning my call. It could be a coincedence. But at this point, if there work is as bad as the customer services so far. We are in big trouble. VERY dissappointed with this service, but ED had no problem taking our 400 dollars for down payment.
This is the worst company with whom I have ever attempted to do business. No one showed up for the scheduled in home estimate. I called 20 minutes before the end of scheduled time at which time the woman with whom I spoke informed me, after an unsuccessful attempt contacting the representative, "he still has 20 minutes, ma'am." At 5 minutes after the scheduled time ended, I called again, and got disconnected. I waited thinking they would call me back. They did not. I called again at which time I got disconnected yet again. Shockingly no one called me back. The third time I called, the woman said, "I'm sorry ma'am. I can offer you $50 off your purchase." As tempting as THAT sounded...I would never enter into a contract with these clowns!
We bought our home and prior to move in we wanted all new carpet. The previous owners had dogs inside and we have allergies. So we called Empire. The installers came out and finished the job in a matter of hours. With their discounts our price was about 7k. We move in and the dining room remained empty except for boxes of glasses and pictures and things like that. Weeks later we get the room emptied out. And discover a warped baseboard, which was soft and slightly moist to the touch. We wonder if we may have a water leak. A leak detector came out and cut 3 holes in the wall looking for a leak, there was none. Confused we call the home inspector. He comes out and discovers urine stains and urine scent under the carpet in the padding and rusty tack boards. He suggested we call empire and provided us a report and pictures of what the issue was. We have made multiple calls to empire with no resolution.
After asking multiple times for a license number and being told they don't have it, I found it. I asked them if that was the correct number and they lied and said no! A representative said all they would do is replace the padding. However the boards are rusted, my new carpet is unsanitary, my baseboards have soaked up the urine, and I now have 3 holes in my wall to search for a leak that never existed, not to mention a 125.00 plumbing bill for nothing. We asked them to replace everything in that room, carpet, padding, tack boards, and the baseboard in that corner. They refused. It is also unbelievable that a company would deny a customer their license number multiple times, then claim the number on their invoice is not actually the correct number. This is a horrible experience. Also, one of the installers offered to carpet part of our garage on the side for cash, said that's his side hustle. Perhaps that's where the new padding went that we did not get, we now suspect that they keep materials for their personal work on the side.
I had wood floors installed in my newly purchased home by Empire today on 4/7/17. A couple weeks later my floor buckled and bubbled in one area, it was not even one month installed. I contacted Empire Today and they sent back their contractors to inspect the floor. The moisture reading in the area of the buckling and bubbling was 78, they claimed that the prior moisture reading was 4.5. I was then told by Empire to call a plumber, I did, he came out inspected and found no leaks. He then advised that I contact a heating and air company in which I did, they came out and found no leaks. Empire is now stating that they do not cover moisture and is refusing to repair my floor. Empire advised that if I want the floor repaired it would cost $1295.95. Empire stated I initialed the box where it says the low moisture reading. I should have checked to make sure the moisture reading was correct.
I asked how was I suppose to know where and how to check for moisture. I advised that the contractors did not take the reading in the area where its now bubbling & buckling. She said no matter they did not cover moisture. Now my floor are ruined and I have to take them to small claims court.
I have a complaint against Empire Today and I am not happy with there product. We have used Empire Today before with no problem and you would think that they would like to make there customers happy.
On 2/27/17, we had Empire today install Engineers Hardwood floors in our kitchen & dining room and at that time everything was OK. About 3 days later around 3/3/17, we notice some scratches and we called Empire today and reported our findings. We got no feedback from them and we called them numberous times finally they got back to us after so much stress they caused us.
We are Senior Citizens who have no children or pets living in our apartment and we wear slippers in our house. They had the nerve to say we did these scratches ourselves that's not true at all. No one came to look at our floors and I do believe that some of the Hardwood were defected how can scratches occur after only 3 days?
They were very ruid and they just didn't want to work with us at all. We took out a payment plan with Wells Fargo to pay for this Hardwood floor. An we will honor this payment plan even though there product is defected. We stand by our obligations and we don't want to ruin our good credit. Any help you can provide us with will be appreciated. Thank you
We had our entire downstairs recarpeted and after the crew left, we noticed a 6 foot cut right across our living room. We had Empire come out, but instead of fixing it, they put glue on it! Our sales guy has been completely unresponsive and even after the company sent someone out to look at it, we cannot get anyone on the phone to resolve this issue. it has been over a month and I am basically going to have to dispute this transaction as the carpet looks worse now than it ever looked before!
The other issue is that they put all the small items from a shelving unit into a trash bag and threw it outside. It contained a collection of over 20 snow globes that my wife had purchased during our travels over the past decade. Aftter the job was complete, we went to unpack them and every one had been broken.
Avoid Empire and go with a reputable company if you want you and your property to be treated with respect and have a proper installation done!
We had a pipe burst that flooded our basement. I called three different companies and Empire had a sales associate sent out almost immediately. She had samples of carpet and tile and was very knowledgeable. I was able to choose what I needed and it was all good. Then.. at the end of our conversation concerning price, etc. She had a contract to sign. Meaning make the decision right now. I was comfortable with that. In the contract it stated I had three days to cancel the contract with no questions asked. I had no intention of cancelling. However, she did not explain that the three days was only if I ordered custom work, ie window treatmens, blinds such as that.
The appointment for installation was set up and I was assured both the tile and carpet would be installed on the same day which was great. The morning of the installation I received all call that all was well and they would be there by ten. About thirty minutes later I was called and told that we wouldnt be getting the carpet as it was raining. I am sorry, but it does rain in Georgia and a company that toots that is is a great company should have back up. Not to mention the work was contracted out from someone that lives almost three hours from my home! Two hours later I receive a call saying the tile installer was still 45 mintues out and he had had a flat tire!
The work was not started until the following day. I can honestly say I think I could have installed it better!
I work full time and my step son is deaf. He can read lips but he is uncomfortable around people he does not know. So I missed a full day of work and could not be there to see what was done.
The sales rep that I had spoken to and met would not return my phone calls or answer a text. There is NO direct number to reach anyone and an email always states " Do Not Reply".
If ever need carpet, tile anything I will make sure to steer anyone away from them.
The installation was inferior, the service was inferior, no one knows what is going on with the contractors they hire and I do not believe I spoke to the same person twice the six times I called. The only constant was the recorded message from Empire.
On 10/24/2016, I went under Window Treatment Specification with Empire via WO# VD01378-4757754 for 7 windows; 3 roller blinds and 4 Faux wood. My appointment #1 11/28/2016 the Faux Wood blinds installed; however, I was told they could not find the roller blinds. No follow up from Empire on status of (3) missing blinds. On 12/16/2016 installer installed 3 blinds. The blind in the living room the roller is cut short in the window; however, the blind is covering the window. The blind in the biggest window by the patio roller was cut incorrectly so it had to be re-ordered. Was told Manager would call me back - no call. On 12/13/2016 placed a call into Empire Customer Service to have Supervisor call - no call. On 12/30/2016 installer installed blind that had to be re-made, but the blind still does not cover my patio window.
Called Empire while Installer was present to ask they just make me another Faux Wood blind like the rest in the house - no call from Manager. On 12/30/2016 called Customer Service to find out status of my request. Was transferred to Earl Installation Manager, he never returned call. on 1/5/2017 per Empire blind would be in on 1/13. 1/13/2017 called Empire and advised blind was in. When I spoke with Installer I was advised they re-made the same roller blind that does not work in the window. At this point, I want the 3 roller blinds that DO NOT WORK in my house to be made to the Faux Wood where I had no issue. Also want the recalculate the price, which should be $394.00 credit. For a total owed 1606.00, which I did the financing.
Empire Today removed our living room carpet and old laminate flooring they sweeped the dust from the cement floor. Semi-vaccumed some areas. By the time we came to check it was too late installers were cutting/grinding 36' of edging 1/4" on up.. around a granite rock wall to make the new flooring fit. Rock & cement dust flew throughout the house. They also cut laminate boards, out in front of the house causing dust to come into the house. We had to open all windows. During this time they did not install proper equipment or ventilation to contain the dust. The whole house is a mess, including under the new floors. We cleaned the whole house (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) from ceiling, walls, windows, curtains, kitchen, closets, bathrooms, cabinets, everything.. and vacuumed 8'x36' granite rock walls. Mopped floors dozens of times. The floors are black when mopped... Nothing is working..dust odor remains in the house. We both have headaches, coughs throat burns. We can taste the odor in our mouths. We went to the doctors, we have allergies, husband has asthma and respiratory problems. We can no longer stay in our house, since Dec. 13, 2016. We've been calling Empire Today customer service (800-588-2300) for a 2 -1/2 weeks now. We entered two work service tickets, they informed us a manager will call us in 24 hrs. Also left a message at 866-588-2334, X4541. Floor Installation Oct. 25th . The first call to Empire was Dec 21st. On Dec. 30th finally received a call from Regional Manager to meet with a Floor Supervisor. We haven't heard from anyone yet on how are they going to resolve this problem. This has now become a health issue.
I wanted to share our recent in-home estimate experience from Empire Today. We contacted them through their website for an estimate on laminate flooring for the first floor of our home (approx. 1000sq.ft.) after seeing the special of "Buy 1 room, Get 2 free". We appear to be a young couple and this is our starter home in a young family community. The appointment was very convienent to scedule and someone was able to come by the very next day. This was the end of the pleasant part of our experience.
We wanted to replace our engineered Hardwood floors with possibly laminate as there has been a huge problem with the poly adhearing to the wood floors. It peels off the floor and more sticks to your feet than where it should actually be. We also have carpeting in our living room by the backdoor of our home and with 2 dogs, the carpeting has become stained due to wet springs and winters.
The gentleman arrived about 45 minutes after the beginning of our time window (5:00pm-7:00pm) but was very quick to state that when we are asked during the follow up experience survey phone call that he was within his time frame. Due to this, the appointment ran much later than expected (8:15pm) delaying our schedules. Throughout the evening he continued to tell us what we would be asked during the follow up phone call and then tell us what to say.
We first were given the entire speech about how great the company is and blah, blah, blah. After a full day of work, understandably my husband was rather impatient and ready just to get to business and pick some flooring.
When asked about our budget I informed the salesman that he was our first estimate and since this was our first reno we didn't have too good of an idea of costs but were hoping to keep it around $5,000. (I still don't know if this is a good starting point for laminate flooring as we are expecting our next estimate tomorrow.) I explained that our neighbor recently had new floors installed in their home and since we have the same floor plan we were expecting to spend around the same or slightly more than they spent since we would be including the kitchen, something they did not upgrade.
The longer the gentleman talked the more obvious the pitch became too good to be true. He went on and on about how the installation is where Empire will be doing such a superior job which is why they won't be the lowest bid. I am ok with not getting the cheapest as long as it is quality workmanship. After we discussed the budget, we could tell the estimate would be HIGH because the salesman stated we should only refloor one room now and after we save up more money they will come back and do another and so on, piece by piece, room by room.
Now even though this is the first time I have been incharge of getting new floors picked and installed doesn't mean I have never dealt with flooring before and anyone with a brain knows better than to do his plan as the flooring color would risk the chance of not matching since it was from a different batch of flooring planks. But in order to move forward and get on with it we agreed to only have him measure the master bedroom, dressing area and closet (just to get an idea of the cost since it would be about 1/3 of the entire area that we would opbviously be flooring with someone else) which came out to 287 by his estimate. I also knew he had mismeasured since I have the floor plans and exact measurements, like I said not the first time I have been around a floor reno. He also suggested we could pick multiple types of laminate for the different rooms (bedroom, living room and dining which flow together. In an open floor plan can you imagine what that would do to the home resale value!
As he measured, myhusband and I looked at the choices and picked 3. Only 1 of which I didn't detest. We were given 3 sample books (high end, mid grade and, the stuff of special) that had a grand total of 12 choices. Each book had very dark colors, a medium color, and a very light color, we wanted a medium color. Of the 3 choices we picked for our estimate only 1 was what I would consider a medium color.
The pitch then continued after he measures the room. He stated how superior the installation and warranty were and that since this isn't our forever home the warranty is transferable to future owners, a major selling bonus. That about pushed me over the edge since I know how rare that is, and by pushed me over the edge I just about laughed at him.
*FYI after he left I googled the flooring and warranty information which was on Empire's website and it clearly states that it only covers the purchaser and is NOT transferable. So aside from the pitch and lack of choices, the salesman was outright lying just to make a sale.
Here comes the best part:
The estimates were for 287 sq. feet. All choices were 7mm laminate.
Choice 1: the nice stuff $5,769.95 ($20.10/sqft)
Choice 2: ehhh $5,189.10 ($18.08/sqft)
Choice 3: the junk on special reg. price $4,789.95 ($16.69/sqft) or on sale for $3,334.50 ($11.62/sqft)
Can you imagine the anurism that nearly happened in our dining room upon hearing this?
We politely declined the numerous offers including the 15% educator discount on the choices that weren't on special as well as the reduction on the flooring that was on special since we are "so nice and were such a lovely couple" (don't ya love those types of discounts!). So as I did the math in my head it would have cost $20,000+ for the choice I could have lived with for only 1000 sq.ft.!
The salesman continued to try to persuade us to sign a contract at that time which was now well past his 7pm time window and went to "make a call for us". His manager then approves him to sell us the junk on special for $2490. That's a 48% reduction in price!
Now aside from this being our first estimate, I was not about to sign anything due to the lack of choices and the pressure in his voice. He then tried one last time to get us to buy with the infamous try the old "guilt trip" move. While I was empathetic that you believe your trip home will take 1.5 hours even though I know the area and its about 50 minutes away, and I also pity that you will have to wake up at 4am to drive to Charleston for a conference guilt trips won't work on me. My husband is a former Marine and I am an elementary school teacher. If I can say no to children and stick with it even though they have the most precious little faces, I can assure you I will be able to stick with my decision not to buy anything yet. My husband got a good laugh from this after he left at watching his "stone cold wife shut him down" (as he put it).
The following day (being the nerd/teacher who is able to do basic math that I am), I sat down and did a few caluculations.
For the Flooring on special, the initial price would have been $4,789.95 and the special took off 2/3 the supply cost -$1,455.45. So in total the supplies would cost $2,183.18 for 287 sq ft! That's $7.61 per sqft, I still havn't found a retail price that high for 7mm laminate not installed.
I then determined the precentage of total cost that is supply cost (45.6%) versus installation/operating cost (54.4%). I used this scale later when comparing there costs with a Lumber Liquidation store and with the amount my neighbor spent on flooring for their home.
When the price was reduced to $2490 ($8.68/ sqft) the "lowest they could offer" the supply cost was comparable to retail price for 12mm laminate with attached pad. I still couldn't justify this cost for only the bedroom; aside from the price I knew that if they are able to reduce the price almost 50% that money is coming from the markup somewhere and the installers are going to be paid crumbs compared to the amounst Empire would receive.
Since our meeting I have been looking into some of the flooring offered and I have come to find they have a 4x's the amount markup for the IDENTICAL flooring at retail price. This would lead one to also assume this is the markup on the "labor and operating cost". I may have even been tempted a little at sale price for supplies but for the saleman to mark down so quickly and so much from such a high number and to know that mark down was not solely coming off the supply cost but also the installation cost, I would not feel right accepting it.
My husband says the best part of the entire pitch was the "if you sign now we will also waive the lock your price in now fee and you will get a free Mr. Empire bobble head! If we had purchased our floors with you and with that bobble head constantly looking at me head nodding saying, "you're a broke dummy". I then would really hate myself and not just hate I wasted 2 hours listening to the entire schpeel!
In the end we will most likely be buying from our local flooring store and having a local installer do the installation, something I truely wanted to do from the get go. And we will probably spend $1,000's less and get a higher quality laminate even though the salesman did try to convince me that "12mm laminate was not better than 7mm", that 2 dogs won't be able to destroy their product because it was "astounding and waterproof because they could line the inside of a swimming pool with it if we wanted to".
I don't know if they thought I was young and stupid or hoped I wouldn't follow up on other estimates, but I suspect they hope I'm stupid.
Honestly, if they expect to remain in business they need to get their sales practices under control and they don't need to treat potential consumers like they are idiots. I may not be the oldest person to buy flooring (28yrs old) but my mama didn't raise no fool! I know when I'm being lied to and to think laminate is waterproof and I know when a pitch sounds too good to be true that it probably is.
I purchased wood flooring from Empire Today store.
When we asked about the floor durabiliy, We were told the wood bamboo panels would wear well. Upon installation actually immedatedly after the floor was laid down. We noticed scratches. My husband and I live alone in the house, no little children,no pets. and we wear slippers in the home.
We raised complaints to the store and home office. A inspector came to look at
the floor and agreed with us the floor had way to many scratches.. Best results we obtained was an offer of another floor of equal or lesser value. But we would have to pay for installation, which would cost us another 2,000.00. we found that unacceptable, considering the cost of the flooring was $7,000.00.
We are not happy at all.We would never give any business to Empire today ever again. We tell all our friends Never use Empire Today.
We contacted Empire on Thursday, October 27th, the same day we had evicted a tenant from our rental property. Needless to say the carpet in the house was beyond disgusting. I had to work so my wife met with the salesman, Chris. We had had to move in by November 1st. My wife was under extreme stress and Chris reassured that he would take care of the situation. My wife explained to Chris that we wanted real wood flooring to increase the homes value so we could sell it in a year or two. My wife was skeptical because the estimate did not break down the separate cost of materials, labor, etc., but Chris told her if the contract was not signed that day the project could not start until the following week.
We decided to go with the contract because we had to move in the following week. The project cost was $10,900. The install was scheduled to begin on Friday, October 28th. The install was complete and the floors looked very nice. However, the next day we noticed movement in the boards throughout the house, the stairs have hundreds of nail holes, and some of the stair boards are not level. The Empire install coordinator, Joe Bell, came out to check out these issues. Joe told my wife that the movement in the boards was due to the type of wood that was used, and there was no way to repair it. My wife asked Joe what kind of wood was used and Joe told her it was a wood veneer, which has a very thin wood surface and that the rest of the board is a composite material. Joe explained that the veneer wood is not 100% hardwood but is used in Florida because of the high humidity. Therefore this type of wood will put us at a disadvantage when reselling the home and does not add value.
Joe called the next day and told us the General Manager agreed to replace the floor but we would have to pay the difference in the cost of the wood and installation. We had already spent more than we budgeted for and asked for a refund. Joe said he could not make this type of decision and he would talk with the General Manager of the Tampa office, Scott Heath, and call us back that afternoon.
The next day was Friday and since we had not received a call back we contacted Joe. Joe told us that Scott was out of town until Monday. After several phone calls, I finally spoke with Scott Monday evening. Scott said that Empire had done what they were contracted to do and would not terminate the contract. I asked him for contact information to the corporate customer service manager and Scott told me he would talk with Tim Sherwin, the Regional Manager, and have him call us.
The next day, after waiting for a call I finally called Empire back and was eventually connected with Tim. Tim said he had not called because he was waiting for all the details on the installation from the inspection. I explained to Tim that we were misled regarding the type of flooring used and wanted our money refunded. After some discussion back and forth, Tim became irritated and basically told me they had done what they were contracted to do, and the bottom line was he would not refund our money or terminate the contract. We asked how he could make a decision without the information from the inspection, he told us there was nothing else to discuss and gave me his phone number for our attorney.
We are considering legal action since we were misled about the wood, there was no detail in the contract about the costs, and Empire did not comply with the contract regarding the type of installation, which should have been adhesive, not floating. I encourage any other dissatisfied customers to contact me to join me in legal action against Empire.
After about a week we got a call from Scott and he personally came out the next day to check out the installation and discuss our issues. He thought the contract specified a floating install and continued to tell us the movement was normal. I then showed him my copy of the contract pointing out the installation type was adhesive, he seemed surprised. After another week Scott called and said Empire was willing to replace the flooring and install it correctly with adhesive. While weighing our options on what to do I have tried to contact Scott to get something in writing outlining detailed information on what exactly Empire would do for the replacement and have not had a call back.
Completed order with them promised delivery on 12/12. No show. Rescheduled to 12-13. Waiting for them then they called and said CARPET was out of stock until 7 to 10 days. Promise things they cannot deliver. Don't do business with them. NEVER.
First the sales had made an estimates for the room and living room .. after signing everything was ok.. When the installation team arrived for my surprise the room was not included. So i call in to cancel and the cancellation agent was able to get the room approved for the same amount that i paid, but i had to wait some days for the room since they did not have the materialthe living room was installed, but has been 10 days Calles 5 times and i am not able to get in touch with nobody that can help The information that they provide me that the sales manager will be calling me on the next 24 business hours that promise has been 5 days with no return .. everything i call they give me the same answer and i am not able to get it resolved , also i asked for a copy of the actual contract and they deny it to me .. spoke with 2 supervisors that didint do nothing to help I am at the end of my hopes.. i think they are trying to screw me and will never install the flooring on my room .. i would never recommend empire and they are very very expensive for the worst flooring company onthe market.. So unlucky to have choose this company could have save thousand of dollars and had the job done completed and corrected Just want my flooring installed and will never want to hear about empire today anymore, hope the CEO or someone that can resolve the companies issue reads this Disappointing
In April of 2016, we called for an estimate...the sales person came out and gave us a quote that seemed too high... we passed...but customer service ended up calling back and offering us the deal we wanted $1600 out the door. It turned out the house wasn't ready - so we had to pass again. It's now December 2016 and we called again to get the same deal. I told the salesman - that if he couldn't do the original deal - don't bother coming. He said the original carpet was ona. National "do not discount" list and probably won't be able to. That I should call corporate and explain and call him back. I called Corporate and they said to definitely keep the appointment, that everything is negotiable. So, the salesman showed up...he called his sales manager and he again said that the original deal is off the table, BUT we can go with our second choice (which was originally over $1300 more than the first selection for a total of $1900 - "it's definitely a higher end carpet"...so.... we offered to meet in the middle at $1750. He called and texted his sales manager again who told him - if we didn't take the deal at $1900 that he should just walk. He also called a different number at Corporate that said he COULD do the original deal...using some discount code and honor what the original offer was. But then his "boss called" regarding the $1900 deal and our salesman told him what. Corporate said and he said nope - not doable...the guy who offered that orIginal deal hasn't been with the company since May and I arm not honoring his price.!?!?!? Sooooo...we told him to walk. Why not just sell us the considerably "lower quality" carpet for the original deal of $1600...? It's the same carpet we looked at in April. ...although , now I have my heart set on the second choice :-( The whole thing doesn't make sense. Feels like being raked over the coals at a used car dealership. Bummed. I really wanted to check this off the list before Christmas break. Now I have to start from scratch with another in home estimate....
I called empire to get a quote for carpet, had the appt setup for 10-19-16 between 5pm and 7pm. the sales rep showed up at 515pm pulled accross the street from my place, called me from a restricted number ( all the time i was outside looking at him) i missed the call as my neighboor was mowing so i didnt hear my phone. so i decided to walk up to his truck, the sales guy looked right at me and drove off i called customer service at this time and they reached out to him he pulled over 8 or so houses away from mine answered the call and said he was on his way to another appt and said there was no house where i live lmfao. yes id really like to carpet my yard please!
needless to say i complained about this spoke to "several" agents including a rep named shane who when i asked for a manager he hung up on me. after speaking to 7 or so people from there we came to the understanding that this is just how they are.
well i was trying to get the carpet in because they are/were offering a promo price 50% carpet padding and install. oh here is the funny part!! its available to EVERYONE but minnesota customers. such a waste of time and its very misleading to say the least. i do hope that someone files a class action suit against them for misleading customers into getting quotes for services.
they offered me a bogus $100 credit for my time. i refused that offer, my time is worth more than that.
Three years ago we became tired of the carpets throughout our house.They were still serviceable but they were 10 years old and in need of updating. So we called Empire Today upon seeing one of their TV commercials. The Salesman was very responsive and we chose our new carpets over$10,000 worth but we were very excited. About 3 months after installation we called Empire about some damage we noticed, a small bold spot in the center of one of the rooms. We blamed our dog for that at first but when they sent a warranty inspector to look at it he told us that the pile was defective and falling out.
Empire did come out and had to reinstall carpet in two rooms. A year later after the warranty expired another hole developed in the carpet in another room. We paid $250 to Empire to patch the carpet. Three years have passed and our carpets look worn ,drabby and stained. They have also stretched out of shape in all of our rooms. We had the carpets professionally cleaned(Stanely Steemer) and they still look awful. Our only alternative seems to be to replace the carpet. The Carpet we purchased from Empire is without a doubt the worst carpet my wife and I have purchased in 40 years!
The person at the Fairfax VA Empire Today store sold us incorrect trims for our ceramic tile where it meets the carpet and the stair. He sold us items which are used for Vinyl tile. I was told by the installer that I should go to Home Depot and buy the items myself. The manager of the Fairfax VA store sent me photos of the items which I was sold incorrectly as the new items which she was getting. The installer cancelled the installation and walked off the job even though the manager of the Fairfax VA store said to stay. I was called by the salesman of the store (the one who sold me the wrong items) to come in to the store to see the new pieces. I told him that the manager was to send photos. He said no. I cancelled the entire order. This is stupid and inconvenient and should never have happened. I am so very upset. Beware, Beware, Beware.
Empire set out a sales person who promised the carpet we ordered will be installed on 9/12/16. we just moved in and spent all weekend painting the room before install on Monday 912/16. My wife stayed home waiting for the installers and no one showed by 9 AM so she called the customer service person and found out the carpet was never scheduled or ordered! called customer service and all they could do was try again, now carpet is due the 9/23/16 so they say. I called to get the answer : why wasn't the carpet ordered as promised? No one would take the time to find out Why(4 calls). I called the regional office and was promissed that I would get an answer from a monager within the hour 9/12/16 and no call (Still Waiting) called again today and still cannot get hold of a manager! I cancelled my order and was told I might see my deposit in 10 to 14 days? Now I have all my funiture and my grnd childrens furniture (Beds) in the garage wait for carpet. If I reorder from another company , the process starts all over again. I cannot get a straight answer from anyone at Empire. What would be different from Empire this time if I allow them to try to reorder the carpet again. This place is a ripoff because one they get your business they think at there mercy and forget who's the customer! seems like they took my money and ran!
Very disappointed in Empire Today in San Antonio, TX. Worked with a Mr. Dave Smith as the salesman. Grumpy dude and didn't seem to care if he made a sale or not. My wife and I were going to look at other carpet installers to compare, but decided to just go ahead with Empire Today. They have those slick commercials, so you would think they are legit. We were scheduled for installation the following Tuesday. I took day off from work to be there when they showed up. They were scheduled to show up between 11 am and 1 pm. By 1:15 pm still no show and no phone call to update us on when they were arriving. Started calling Mr. Smith and the 1-800 number for corporate. No answers. Is anyone there? After calling several numbers associated with Empire today finally got hold of a Rex Johnson. He put us in contact with the lead installer. By then I was too pissed off to be Mr. Nice. The lead installer and I got into an argument. I calmed down and he said he would be there in 20 minutes. He finally shows up with three illegal alien "assistants". They can't speak any English. The lead installer starts complaining that he started working at 5 am that morning? The absolute worst part is that they were delivering the wrong carpet! I went to inspect it and it was the wrong color and a cheaper version of what I was promised. I am thinking this is a bait and switch situation. It was not what I expected. The salesman sold me thick plush carpet based on the samples and what shows up is thin, crappy carpet. We refused the installation and called Mr. Smith. He doesn't answer the phone until an hour or so later. He starts lying about how the color is different when it is out in the sunlight. I asked him about the poor carpet quality and he said it was because it hadn't been installed and once it is stretched it will be OK. What? I could see the backing of the carpet through the pile with barely pulling apart with my fingers! Stretching is only going to make it worse. Anyway I could on about how they tried to make it right, but you are probably getting the idea. Bottom line up front is Steer clear of Empire Today.
If you ever do business with a carpet installation team, get samples of what you purchasing and compare what shows up with the sample. Also they sold us the Pet Urine Protection padding and it looked real sturdy in the sample, but what showed up was regular padding with thin layer of "protection". We are going to just get the carpets professionally cleaned and look at replacing carpet in the future. Too bad for Empire today, we had another project for them to work on. They will not be getting any recommendations from me. I have already told my co workers to not use Empire Today. Word will spread and they will be out of business soon.
Now for the Rip Off: I paid Mr. Dave Smith a $200.00 deposit which I have yet to receive. Considering filing a small claims case.
Without a doubt, THE WORST customer service I've ever experienced. For three months now I have been waiting on repairs to my floor and 4 TIMES they have scheduled to come out and not only do they not show up but they don't even bother to call me to tell me that they cannot come. When I call to find out what happened, they tell me that someone will get back to me to reschedule and nothing. I have to contact them to get an appointment because NOONE has bothered to contact me to offer an apology for inconveniencing me...when I do finally speak with someone to get scheduled for another day, that day comes, nothing....no maintenance....no call. And yesterday, they increased my credit on my finance card for further purchase at their store! I would never in my life go back to a company who could care less about their customers. They've scheduled to come out tomorrow between 10-2. More than likely I will end up calling them and re-scheduling for a future date that will never get done.
Empire Today LLC Reviews
I should have read the reviews on Google before trusting this company, but this company was a referral based on what they did for a friend. He was treated very well and got a great deal on flooring and the install was good too. So, I decided to contact them about replacing my flooring on my main and upper levels of my home. The Sales Rep (Robert Medearis) worse sales rep I have ever dealt with........who came out and we went over the entire job for both floors, including the stairs. He told me to TRUST him which was my first mistake and that he would ensure everything was to my satisfaction. The first half of the project only involved the main floor. It was VERY pricy and he seemed to be telling me he was doing everything he could on pricing to get me the best deal - NOT!!!! There were errors with this half of the project. Had to get approval to do a small coat closet coming in the front door which needed some extra things from Home Depot. Then, there was a balance the installer said I owed which was NOT the case as everything was financed. Then, the Sales Rep came back out and discussed with me again the second job of the upper level and stairs, again we discussed in our initial conversation (that he doesn't remember because after I think about it, he was in such a hurry to get me to sign the contract and schedule the install with the first part, he wasn't thinking about the second part.) When he came out again for the second part, I didn't think about asking him again about the stairs because that was already discussed in our initial conversation. However, when I got the contract and went over it with Installation, I discovered Robert didn't include the stairs and had to call Empire over a half dozen times about it, only to discover that they didn't get this resolved for my install date and sent a NEW contract with NO changes and only changed the install date, without confirming with me that new date would even work. Oh, and not that it's a big deal to some, but after telling them my name a half dozen times, you would think they would get that right.....NOPE! Finally, after getting the reply from the "owner" which is actually the Social Media Dept, they did absolutely nothing and only told me to work it out with my Sales Rep. Not good customer service at all with SO many other companies out there to choose from, I am embarrassed for them. When I finally got someone to tell me how much extra the stairs would be it was the same amount as the entire upstairs!!! Finally, I just found out that what the sales rep told me about NO Payment/NO Interest for ONE year turned out to be ONLY NO Interest. Payments must still be made each month. So, once again, Robert should be fired after all of this hoopla!!! It's all been a challenge and not a good experience and I would not recommend working with this company at this time! They are high pressure, too costly, poor service, poor communication, and managers won't step in to help - Seriously????
For the second time using Empire Today, the salesperson mismeasured. There was not enough products to do the job in the time frame promised in my contract with them! I then had to take a day off work, unplanned, causing my own business to suffer and their only compensation was an offer of $50! Can not reach anyone to rectify this! No one calls or emails back! The only supervisor i was able to speak with, Liam, was rude and condescending! Terrible business practices Empire Today! I guess fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me!
The sales Rep in Phoenix Arizona voluntarily told me that laminate flooring would NOT have a hollow clicking sound when walking on it. In fact it DOES make that cheap sound. There is no way to know that until the flooring is actually installed. I requested a refund, but the company refuses. One executive told me the sound would dissipate in four months and I should call back then!!
I am shocked that such a well known company as this will not stand behind its products and representatives.
0 STARS
I contracted Empire today wit the sales Rep Diane to replace the floors in my house to ceramic tile flooring. They told me the job would take 3 days and that I had to be there for the job to occur. The job was scheduled for 2 weeks later at 8 am on 4/21. They made me pay for 60% of the job upfront.
On 4/21 at 830 am they called and stated that they cannot come because they dont have anyone to do my work. I had already had all my appliances disconnected and water shut off and furniture moved. I was told by the manager Luis that they can now only come on Friday 4/23. I explained to Luis that if they start the job on Friday my Coop does not allow for work on th weekeds and this would just delay but i was told that thats the only day they can come and that the workers would call me when they are on their way.
On 4/23 the workers never call and show up at my house at 830. they come in look around and start measuring. I had to move my car far away so they could park closer to my house because the vistor Lot was "too far". I went back to working and they called me downstairs at 1030 saying I had to pay for the entire job. When i looked around they hadnt even started working. I told them I had a meeting that should las 45 min and my wallet is in the car. i will get the wallet to pay in 45. they refused to start and said they were leaving and didnt come back intil 1230. they started working at 1 pm and the asked to return on Saturday. When I told him he could not work onthe weekend i was told by another manager Ruth that I was delaying the job because my coop was difficult.
They worked the next two day and told me 4/27 they would be finished by the end of the day. Then at 6 pm they tell me they are not done and need to come back tomorrow. i said I work and cant call out from work at 6 pm the night before and asked if they can come 4/29 instead and I was told no because they cant leave other customers without doing their job. They said they would not be able to come back for a week and wuold leave my house looking like a disater. Again spoke to manager Ruth who was no help and kept blaming me for not letting them work on saturday and sunday or past 6pm in my coop even though those are standard coop rules.
On the last day I do a walk through and theres cement on the walls multiple walls, broken areas on the wall near the base board that they replaced. Ive tried to call multiple times and wont answer the phone. I heard over my ring their manager telling them that the "customer is a problem, do not talk to her or answer any questions".
I sent the sales rep the pictures of the damage and noone will answer me or pic up my phone call.
It must be really easy to not be helpful or fix the damages you create when you con the customer into paying for the entire job upfront.
I called Empire because of their 50% off sale. Salesman came and showed some samples. I asked about the 50% off and he said "that only applies to hardwood flooring”. I wanted Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) so the "sale” did not apply to me. After they installed some cheap China junk, I saw the ad again and it clearly stated LVT was included. I called Empire and no one was able to explain. They just told me they didn’t know and the only person in the company that did know was out of town.
Finally after 4 days the original salesman called me and said the only LVT that the sale applied to was xxx line and it had a "do not sell” order on it. So, I said that means that no LVT was included in the sale. He said that’s not true so I asked which is on sale and he couldn’t answer me. Then I asked for the company policy or whatever it was that excluded me and was told he would email it to me. Of course he didn’t send anything, including any warranty information.
After paying almost $20 per square foot for plastic junk I wish I had gone to Home Depot. Has anyone received 50% off? United States
We purchased a home in November 2018 and called Empire Carpet out for a quote on flooring. During our consultation we opted to replace only the carpeting throughout the h*o.e as the cost was way more than what we were expecting. Within a week of signing our contract we had carpeting installed in our home. Everything looked to be okay and here we are less than 2 years later and the carpeting was coming up where the carpet met the tile.
I reached out to my sales rep and was advised everything was still covered under warranty. When I reached out to have someone come repair the carpet I was et with pushback. Eventually they sent a technician out and while they were here all areas were addressed except by the front door. When they attempted to fix the carpet there they had to stop - they informed us that the carpet was cut too short and that when trying to stretch it it started to fray.
The technician advised us that the carpet was delaminating because the carpet was cut short. When we were contacted by the main office we were immediately met with resistance about the carpet. They tried to blame us for the delamination saying that when our carpets were cleaned we used too much water. Mind you I've been cleaning my own carpets for over 10 years and have never had anything else like this. They refused to submit a claim to the manufacturer because I am not able to produce a receipt for my carpet cleaner. I provided a copy of my warranty, which shows the date of purchase, but they refuse to accept it.
Special offer that cost a lot of money. Discount did not match the TV commercial. Had 4 rooms and 4 closets of carpet installed. The only rooms the carpet has not lifted from are the closets and the living room floor because we have a decorative carpet on top of the living room floor and we don't walk really in the closets.
All other carperts are lifting everywhere and it's only been approximately a year and a half. The problem also includes, warranty runs out in a year. Wow! You have to pay to have carpet streteched. I'm stil paying and will be paying for a couple more years on the new carpet and installation. Don't do it if you expect to be walking on your carpets for over a year and lucky we don't have a large family.
Empire Today is not an honorable business. There is even a support group for People that have been burnt. They act like bunglers that want you to pay for their mistakes. They gave me a exorbitant price which in foolishness I agreed to.
SO, next they send a team to pull up the flooring and decide its more work than the first one anticipated and want more money. I like a dope agreed. Next, unbelievably they prepare the floor but had cut the vinyl the wrong length.
When they come back they want me to pay more because their prep got ruined. They miss appointments and do disgusting business practices. Please share everywhere so no one else gets stung by these unscrupulous people. I am 73 and think this may be senior abuse.
Empire Today installed new laminate in entire house except master bedroom, new carpet in there. After they finished the 1st day (about half done) they left DUST everywhere! They were sawing the laminate in my home!
The furniture was all over & I couldn't even walk in the home. Next time I told installer about dust & he did not care. He hardly spoke english! After 3 days, they came back & finished & left DUST EVERYWHERE, including the garage!
It took me 2 days to clean all the dust off of EVERYTHING I own!! I;m still cleaning all my equipment in garage !Luckily, I covered my computer. Also, they stole my painter's tape, 2 rolls & car wax from garage, as well as expensive window cleaner.
Empire today is terrible, installers had no respect for my property & they over-charged me! I had agreed to $6500 & I was charged $7600.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR & STAY CLEAR OF "EMPIRE TODAY"!!! I tried calling & it is a joke, so I'm stuck cleaning home & garage for 3 days & counting!!
In 2018, we hired Empire Today to install a carpet in a large, 2-room basement area of the empty home we’d just purchased. The installers charged us $600 for new padding, but never installed the padding. They put new carpet over the old padding and kept our money. We discovered this the following winter, when water damage forced us to pull up a small section of the new carpet.
Empire informed us that the entire carpet needed to be replaced if we wanted to keep our warranty. This was a huge problem because the basement was now fully-furnished and contained over $50,000 of fragile electronic equipment which would have to be moved. After a fight, Empire agreed to do the re-installation for free.
Since we didn’t trust a carpet crew to move the very expensive equipment while they worked, we agreed on a 2-day installation. We would clear one room for them on day 1, then move all of the equipment to the first room, clearing the second room for them to work before they arrived on day 2. No problem.
They arrived on day 1 and completed the first room, but they didn’t leave. The carpet crew proceeded to move all of that equipment themselves and finish the second room, completing the job in 1 day for their own convenience. I discovered this only when they were nearly finished. I yelled for them to stop but the foreman literally refused. It was very difficult to communicate with them, they spoke broken English or none at all. Frustrated, I resigned to let them finish the job.
The crew left our belongings in large, disorganized piles throughout the basement, some of which fell over and collapsed. I photographed all of it and notified the company the same day.
After several days of inventorying the mess, I discovered several thousand dollars in damages to equipment and furniture. The job itself was notably poorer than the first installation but that’s the least of our concerns, and we’re not allowing this company back into our home for repairs.
The company was completely unresponsive to phone calls and emails for weeks at a time. It’s very important to persist throughout this period, which appears to be this company’s standard operating procedure for claims and complaints. It’s now been months and this company continues to deny any wrongdoing – but they’ve offered us a small monetary fraction of the damages “for inconveniences.”
The crew has lied about their conduct and misrepresented the condition of our home in their photographs, using “after” photos as “before” photos (yet neglecting to provide both sets for us). We have photo proof to the contrary, of course, and this will be an easy case in court. But the negligence, fraud, theft and destruction for which Empire Today has been responsible throughout this 10-month ordeal has been tremendously frustrating for us.
Find a local crew for your flooring, stay away from Empire.
If you order anything other than the cheap/basic/economy padding, the installers won't put it in. Instead, they put in the cheap padding. I didn't pay attention when they installed, but had to cut back some carpet to install flooring and noted that the padding put it was NOT what I had ordered --
I had the premium spill-proof/pet-proof padding. Then the resolution is that they'll replace the padding, but YOU need to move everything out of the room for the installers to replace... or give you $100-150 refund on the "difference in price" for the padding. Which is BS. I warned my friend about it (whom I had referred to Empire unaware I had been ripped off) and they were doing the SAME THING, except he caught it the day of the install. But the installers were like, "well, this is what the warehouse gave us.
We can either install it today or reschedule." My friend was moving in in two days and needed the carpet, so he caved and let them install the crap padding and would then work out something with Corporate. THIS IS A SCAM. Do not buy from Empire unless you only buy the cheap stuff. And stay strong with your conviction of them wronging you. They try to frustrate you until you just give up (like Comcast). Take to the review pages. Take it to their Facebook page, bbb.org. Keep up the good fight.
Can not believe the experience I have had with this company. After instillation of hard wood floors I noticed issues with the quarter round trim. After further inspection the trim wasn't even nailed to the baseboard. Reported to customer service. First installer that was to come do repairs was a no show. Second installer did show but glued "some" pieces of trim together. Third attempt was to request an inspector to come look at the unaccecptable work done...they had me wait on them for 12 hours and decided to send another installer. Contacted customer service and was treated as an inconvience buy rep. Contacted Corporate only to be sent back to the same rude customer service rep from my area. Have been waiting on a return call to resolve issues. One has not been received.
I paid alot of money to have the floors done. I have incurred cost with having to miss work, spend my Saturdays with installers and spend much of my time making phone calls and sending repeated emails to resolve an issue that should have been done correctly in the first place.
There should be credit given to accounts that have to deal with these issues repeatedly. I gave them the opportunity to fix it the first time. And a second time. It is past rediculous!
Empire flooring flooded my home. They tried to put flooring over the water and when I refused and requested they have a manager come to my home they stopped answering my calls and emails. They would not take responsibility for the damage and after water sitting for days I was left with no other choice but to call my insurance and file a claim so that my insurance company could go after them. They are still holding 7500 of my money for work that wasnt completed. When we inspected the materials they had left behind at my home we found used/open boxes with cut and broken pieces they had intended to install. The work that was done is unprofessional and sloppy. Dealing with this company has been nothing short of a nightmare and they dont return phone calls.
In 2016 i made an appt for Empire today to come and give me an estimate of new carpeting for my living room, which i also asked to pay and use the best linner. The carpet after 2 years started to bulge in areas, i called Empire and was told that the install was only a one year warranty. I agreeded to ap again $105.00 for them to come and fix the problem...They made the appt...but i look them up and found thousands of complaints filed....
I still went a head and made the appt was told tech would arrive between the hours of 8 to 8 p.m...I was called by an auto machine the day of appt to confirem...I waitied till 3 p.m called to find out status and was told they could not reach tech..At 4:45 p.m a c/s person called and assured me the tech was on his way and would arrive at 5:15 to %:30...I waited at 5:45 the tech called and asked that i re schedule the apptment cause he was tired had 2 jobs and was in an area not close to me , i asked him were he was and it was 15 min away...he assured me he would be by me soon, ...15 min later a c/s person cvalled to cancel appt cause tech could not make it....I wait all day 9 hrs to be called and told to reschedule, took a day off and had my wife cancel her appt to help in any furnture moving...we moved almost all the items in the living room to get a call at the last min ...with no proper handling of the way this was done ..."A TECH CALLS SAYS HES ON HIS WAY...HE'S TIRED...HE HAS TO GPS TO ME ) I advised him he was 15 min no more from me ...he even said the way i explained the job it would take 20 min...This is not the kind of service a Company should have ...be when they farm out work and then try and tell the public how they handle the work ...The dept of Consumer Affairs in the state the operate should pull there license based on the complaints.....
I will never use or advisde anyone to use there service , and if at any time given the way to file a review i will...
I wanted to share our recent in-home estimate experience from Empire Today. We contacted them through their website for an estimate on laminate flooring for the first floor of our home (approx. 1000sq.ft.) after seeing the special of "Buy 1 room, Get 2 free". We appear to be a young couple and this is our starter home in a young family community. The appointment was very convienent to scedule and someone was able to come by the very next day. This was the end of the pleasant part of our experience.
We wanted to replace our engineered Hardwood floors with possibly laminate as there has been a huge problem with the poly adhearing to the wood floors. It peels off the floor and more sticks to your feet than where it should actually be. We also have carpeting in our living room by the backdoor of our home and with 2 dogs, the carpeting has become stained due to wet springs and winters.
The gentleman arrived about 45 minutes after the beginning of our time window (5:00pm-7:00pm) but was very quick to state that when we are asked during the follow up experience survey phone call that he was within his time frame. Due to this, the appointment ran much later than expected (8:15pm) delaying our schedules. Throughout the evening he continued to tell us what we would be asked during the follow up phone call and then tell us what to say.
We first were given the entire speech about how great the company is and blah, blah, blah. After a full day of work, understandably my husband was rather impatient and ready just to get to business and pick some flooring.
When asked about our budget I informed the salesman that he was our first estimate and since this was our first reno we didn't have too good of an idea of costs but were hoping to keep it around $5,000. (I still don't know if this is a good starting point for laminate flooring as we are expecting our next estimate tomorrow.) I explained that our neighbor recently had new floors installed in their home and since we have the same floor plan we were expecting to spend around the same or slightly more than they spent since we would be including the kitchen, something they did not upgrade.
The longer the gentleman talked the more obvious the pitch became too good to be true. He went on and on about how the installation is where Empire will be doing such a superior job which is why they won't be the lowest bid. I am ok with not getting the cheapest as long as it is quality workmanship. After we discussed the budget, we could tell the estimate would be HIGH because the salesman stated we should only refloor one room now and after we save up more money they will come back and do another and so on, piece by piece, room by room.
Now even though this is the first time I have been incharge of getting new floors picked and installed doesn't mean I have never dealt with flooring before and anyone with a brain knows better than to do his plan as the flooring color would risk the chance of not matching since it was from a different batch of flooring planks. But in order to move forward and get on with it we agreed to only have him measure the master bedroom, dressing area and closet (just to get an idea of the cost since it would be about 1/3 of the entire area that we would opbviously be flooring with someone else) which came out to 287 by his estimate. I also knew he had mismeasured since I have the floor plans and exact measurements, like I said not the first time I have been around a floor reno. He also suggested we could pick multiple types of laminate for the different rooms (bedroom, living room and dining which flow together. In an open floor plan can you imagine what that would do to the home resale value!
As he measured, myhusband and I looked at the choices and picked 3. Only 1 of which I didn't detest. We were given 3 sample books (high end, mid grade and, the stuff of special) that had a grand total of 12 choices. Each book had very dark colors, a medium color, and a very light color, we wanted a medium color. Of the 3 choices we picked for our estimate only 1 was what I would consider a medium color.
The pitch then continued after he measures the room. He stated how superior the installation and warranty were and that since this isn't our forever home the warranty is transferable to future owners, a major selling bonus. That about pushed me over the edge since I know how rare that is, and by pushed me over the edge I just about laughed at him.
*FYI after he left I googled the flooring and warranty information which was on Empire's website and it clearly states that it only covers the purchaser and is NOT transferable. So aside from the pitch and lack of choices, the salesman was outright lying just to make a sale.
Here comes the best part:
The estimates were for 287 sq. feet. All choices were 7mm laminate.
Choice 1: the nice stuff $5,769.95 ($20.10/sqft)
Choice 2: ehhh $5,189.10 ($18.08/sqft)
Choice 3: the junk on special reg. price $4,789.95 ($16.69/sqft) or on sale for $3,334.50 ($11.62/sqft)
Can you imagine the anurism that nearly happened in our dining room upon hearing this?
We politely declined the numerous offers including the 15% educator discount on the choices that weren't on special as well as the reduction on the flooring that was on special since we are "so nice and were such a lovely couple" (don't ya love those types of discounts!). So as I did the math in my head it would have cost $20,000+ for the choice I could have lived with for only 1000 sq.ft.!
The salesman continued to try to persuade us to sign a contract at that time which was now well past his 7pm time window and went to "make a call for us". His manager then approves him to sell us the junk on special for $2490. That's a 48% reduction in price!
Now aside from this being our first estimate, I was not about to sign anything due to the lack of choices and the pressure in his voice. He then tried one last time to get us to buy with the infamous try the old "guilt trip" move. While I was empathetic that you believe your trip home will take 1.5 hours even though I know the area and its about 50 minutes away, and I also pity that you will have to wake up at 4am to drive to Charleston for a conference guilt trips won't work on me. My husband is a former Marine and I am an elementary school teacher. If I can say no to children and stick with it even though they have the most precious little faces, I can assure you I will be able to stick with my decision not to buy anything yet. My husband got a good laugh from this after he left at watching his "stone cold wife shut him down" (as he put it).
The following day (being the nerd/teacher who is able to do basic math that I am), I sat down and did a few caluculations.
For the Flooring on special, the initial price would have been $4,789.95 and the special took off 2/3 the supply cost -$1,455.45. So in total the supplies would cost $2,183.18 for 287 sq ft! That's $7.61 per sqft, I still havn't found a retail price that high for 7mm laminate not installed.
I then determined the precentage of total cost that is supply cost (45.6%) versus installation/operating cost (54.4%). I used this scale later when comparing there costs with a Lumber Liquidation store and with the amount my neighbor spent on flooring for their home.
When the price was reduced to $2490 ($8.68/ sqft) the "lowest they could offer" the supply cost was comparable to retail price for 12mm laminate with attached pad. I still couldn't justify this cost for only the bedroom; aside from the price I knew that if they are able to reduce the price almost 50% that money is coming from the markup somewhere and the installers are going to be paid crumbs compared to the amounst Empire would receive.
Since our meeting I have been looking into some of the flooring offered and I have come to find they have a 4x's the amount markup for the IDENTICAL flooring at retail price. This would lead one to also assume this is the markup on the "labor and operating cost". I may have even been tempted a little at sale price for supplies but for the saleman to mark down so quickly and so much from such a high number and to know that mark down was not solely coming off the supply cost but also the installation cost, I would not feel right accepting it.
My husband says the best part of the entire pitch was the "if you sign now we will also waive the lock your price in now fee and you will get a free Mr. Empire bobble head! If we had purchased our floors with you and with that bobble head constantly looking at me head nodding saying, "you're a broke dummy". I then would really hate myself and not just hate I wasted 2 hours listening to the entire schpeel!
In the end we will most likely be buying from our local flooring store and having a local installer do the installation, something I truely wanted to do from the get go. And we will probably spend $1,000's less and get a higher quality laminate even though the salesman did try to convince me that "12mm laminate was not better than 7mm", that 2 dogs won't be able to destroy their product because it was "astounding and waterproof because they could line the inside of a swimming pool with it if we wanted to".
I don't know if they thought I was young and stupid or hoped I wouldn't follow up on other estimates, but I suspect they hope I'm stupid.
Honestly, if they expect to remain in business they need to get their sales practices under control and they don't need to treat potential consumers like they are idiots. I may not be the oldest person to buy flooring (28yrs old) but my mama didn't raise no fool! I know when I'm being lied to and to think laminate is waterproof and I know when a pitch sounds too good to be true that it probably is.
First of all everything that the sales rep said was totally wrong.. She said one day install and that was far from truth. She said to contact her if any problems but she never responded to inquiries. She also mis-measured our carpet amount. Carpet was supposed to be installed 1st thing on Monday morning. They were a no show so it took 4 calls to finally get a response. Installers showed at 11 am and were there until 8:30 pm. Since the rep mis-measured we were told 1-2 days to get rest in. UNTRUE.. several days later and still installers were late arriving. We were told the stairs would be completed on Saturday but the installers never showed AGAIN.... Then we were todl stairs on Thursday morning supposedly 1st thing in the morning. No show AGAIN. finally installers show at 5:30pm
This comapany lies. They are unresponsive. You will wast more time taking timeoff of work for installers that are totally unrealiable. WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. They could care less. Also, wanted to speak to headquarters Custoemr service. I left two messages requesting Urgent Call for discussion..l NO RETUN CALL>
Having positive experiences with Empire's carpet installation in the past, my wife and I decided to use them for a small custome window treatment for our new how - two sets of vertical blinds for slider windows. The first sales appointment set for their "free in home estimate" - which according to their website includes measuring - was completely missed. No phone call, no email...nothing. I had to call them to find out why. They said they had no reps available in the area that day, apologized, and rescheduled for the following week.
At the second appointment, the rep arrives on time, and after picking out our blinds, and taking measurments, we are quoted a price of nearly triple what we had found elsewhere such as Blinds.com, or DiscountBlinds.com. Even after being offered "coupons", the price was still more than double the alternatives: $1200 for a set of blinds that would cost at or less $500 elsewhere. For some dumb reason we decided to put down a deposit anyway - $400. The sales rep noted that an installer would be out in a few days to take final measurements - no mention of this being a separate cost.
Three days later, the installer shows up, takes some measurements and leaves, spending all of 20 minutes inside our house. The following week he calls and says the blinds are ready and we schedule an installation appointment... which again is never met. I call the Empire Today customer service and they say they have no record of the installation or the installer, much less the appoinment. At this point I tell them I want to cancel the order and requested a refund of my deposit. I was told that would be okay and they would process the refund. A week later, not having seen the refund posted to my account, I call Empire's customer service, and they say the refund was processed as a flooring installation, not window treatment, and had to reprocess the refund. --- NO MENTION AT ANY TIME OF THE COST OF MEASUREMENT...
The week after cancelling, I get an call from the installer saying the blinds are ready and to schedule an installation. I inform him that I have since cancelled the order with Empire. He was never informed of the cancellation. I told him it was this apparent lack of communication and coordination which led me to cancel the order. At this point, I still have not received my refunded deposit. After talking to the installer, I called Empire to let them know the installer was not aware of the cancellation. They thanked me and said they would follow up.
I waited two more weeks for Empire to "process" my refund...having not received it THREE WEEKS after the fact, I called and requested to speak to a manager. The customer service manager I spoke with had to put me on hold while they called "their people" to find out what was going on. After a lengthy call, I was finally informed that I would be issued a partial refund of $245. They would be withholding $155 for the cost of the measuring...Why was that not disclosed from the beginning? I was never told the followup measurment would be charged. It now feels that they are finding some excuse to make any sort of money off of me.
I highly recommend that you find any other alternative to Empire. It has been three weeks since I cancelled and have yet to receive a refund.
We purchased carpet in Sept 2017. Right away we had issues. The salesguy told us this carpet would never in 20 years show signs of wear/packing. So we purchased. We called 3 weeks later because the seam is in the middle of the room and sticks out like a sore thumb. (Literally looks like someone drew a line down our room) No one called us back after numerous messages. Finally in Novemeber we got a call back. They scheduled to come in Dec and at this point we told them there was even more concern as there were path marks where we walk. Installer never showed to fix seem. We then got a call in January and finally on the 3rd appointment they showed. They had to pull out carpet up because they left garbage underneath. They attempted to fix seam and was unable. Installer said it appeared that the reason it was so visible was that the carpet halves looked to be 3 different shades of gray. They then sent out another person to "inspect" and that guy said it looked frayed and was now a warranty issue that needed to be covered by Mohawk. Never heard a word until a CSR called to see if we would like to upgrade...I said No, I would like you to send someone to fix the problems we already have with our now 6 mo old carpet. They send another guy out in March who spends 10 min in our home. Inspection report comes back that we need to vacuum more (I guess daily isn't enough) he said in the report that our carpet needs cleaned..I guess we should shampoo our carpet daily now as well..because obviously when it's not needed you aren't going to hire professionals to come clean your carpet when it's less than 6 mo old and not dirty.
The general manager Bryan Pawlenty who is very rude and unprofessional called us back and laughed at us and said that it's like owning a car (as if we are 12) and without good maintenance things don't last...so unless you vacuum 24 hrs a day do not purchase anything from these crooks. He said the inspector ran numerous tests (taking a picture with his phone and playing with my 1 yr old son is hard work evidently)They will belittle you and talk down to you (because empire is god's work obviously) they will not stand behind their warranty let alone their work or their word. You are $$ signs to them and that is all. He did say they would replace it If we PAID for it. He then said I'll send you the warranty info...because that does us no good now that they won't honor it. We have file complaints with the BBB who Bryan Pawlenty says they have such a great rating with nothing will hurt them ...ya I'm sure the other 2000 complaints in the last 36 months are truly not hurting his smug self. Buyer beware, they will say everything to get you to buy (we spent 3k on our living room and hallway) and then laugh because they know they screwed you over.
I used Empire for a home I purchased in August 2017. The home was empty and Brian K sales person came out and measured. Brian K said the carpet I chose was the best,padding was the best.10 year warrenty,would not stain,I would not see spots appear due to quality of Carpet and padding. $8000.00. I approved and installation was set.
Install had some very noticable seams,installer said they would "settle" give it a few months.
I had carpet cleaned and noticed these spots appearing,carpet graying and called Empire.
Kyle from Empire came out said carpet should not be so warn after 7 months and carpet had graying. He took samples pictures.
Called 7 times to Kyle no return call.
4 weeks later after 6 calles to Empire they send A-1st Carpet Impressions out,Steven took pictures Carpet samples and said it would go to manufacture Mohawk.
Weeks go by and I get a call from Empire, Mohawk said carpet is fine and we will not replace. But wait Brain had told ne no questions asked,if a stain doesnt come up we will replace. She said we will offer you free labor if you purchase carpet. Are you kidding me I just spent 8k on carpet which did not last 7 months and you want me to purchase again? I requested that she send it to me in writing (which she has not) I also have left two messages for Brian to call me ,I would like to know why he lied to me and what he is going to do to help this situation. No return calls.
How can any company not honor a warrenty ,allow dishonest sales people to work for their company and rip off a consumer, I have not finished with this and will continue until this gets resolved. This is horrible treatment and a horrible company. I have contacted a local news station in hopes for resolution if nothing else get this dishonet company on camera. I will be email all the corporate officers to see if possibly they are blind and unaware of the way consumers are treated.
Kevin Weinberger CEO [email protected]
Jake Ryan VP sales [email protected]
Ron Dewert VP,market research and Strategy [email protected]
Contact 847-583-3000
On April 2, 2018 I met with a salesman of Empire Today to select carpet. He was pleasant, professional and helpful.
Due to a busy install schedule the carpet could not be installed until April 13th. I agreed to the date and 1130 install time. I had to take the day off work for the install and it was important for them to be punctual. The scheduler called me at 10:30am and stated that they were on the way. At 11:30 I called and again, I was told they were on the way. I waited all day and did not receive a call until 330 from an installer that claimed he was at my house when in fact he was not! I continued to attempt to contact a manager and did not receive a call until 530pm. The manager identified himself as Chris Miori. Despite being a manager Chris was unable to provide me a reason why they were a no call no show. He was unable to provide me any information at all.
Chris claimed he was only able to offer me a $86 dollar credit. I was shocked after taking a day off work and a no call no show that $86 was his offer of resolution. After all Chris is the General Manager, he should be able to do more and must have some idea of what happened, but apparently not. I declined use Empire Today and told him we could cancel the contract. I told him I would go to RC Willey or another reputable company in the area. I told him I did not want to continue doing business with them and canceled the order.
The following day I received a call the following day from another manager. He was apologetic and stated that he could have an installer there on April 19th. An installer would be there between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. He explained that Chris was aware of this and was hopeful to retain the business. In addition I was told they would also give me an area rug, and an additional $50 off. Specifically the rug would be a piece of carpet that could be used as a rug but due to the company not having a binding machine it would not be binded. I agreed to give the company another try.
On April 19th I waited for the arrival and once again no one showed up at 3:00pm as Chris and the other manger promised. It was not until 8:00pm that the installer showed up after a plethora of calls to Chris. Once again Chris despite being the manager had no explanation of why they did not show up. The installer who clearly was unaware of all the issues began his work and was very polite. A few minutes into the job he alerted me that he was not provided enough material for the job and would have to come back another day, but he would finish what he could with the material he had. At 930pm I told him that my family needed to go to sleep. I attempted to call Chris but he did not answer. The following day Chris informed me that he was asleep when I had called. I was shocked by his response of sleeping when his customer and his installer were still dealing with the job.
The following day Chris explained that they needed to send the installer with more material. He was scheduled a third time for Saturday April 21st.
Throughout the process I spoke with a manager located in Chicago by the name of Angelica. She attempted to bridge the lines of communication and I was told since she was from corporate that she had more authority to help rectify the situation. I felt this was ridiculous for many reasons, she was in Chicago thus a time zone challenge, and second, Chris was a local General Manager of the area. Additionally the communication between the Chicago corporate office and local office was inaccurate, they were not communicating. This was evident after Angelica was able to provide me with an additional $50 discount, for a total discount of $130, when I was presented with the bill from the installer he was on the phone for 20 minutes because the discount was not reflected on the account.
It took four weeks to complete the job. One no call or show from an installer, and two additional trip to complete installation. Two days of work that I took off for installation and countless calls between local and corporate management. The rug they promised was a piece of uneven, odd shaped scrap that was left over from the my job, this piece would have been discarded after the job.
Upper management is clearly insulated by lower sub-par supervisors. When problems arise lower supervisors are neither empowered nor savvy enough to authorize compensation or solve the problems. Amazingly Chris the local General manger failed to even follow up or come in person to check the work that was performed after all the problems.
The company touts affiliations of reputable business agencies and services but in no way shape or form shares the levels of commitment and service. My hope in taking the time to share my experience is to prevent others becoming victims of Empire Today. I would sooner walk on a dirt floor before using Empire Today for any flooring needs.
It's been two months of constant aggressive advocation for my family on our part, by weekly phone calls to floor supervisors in Texas by the name of Anna and Saul, without any appropriate followup from the Michigan office.
We have been told that they will "discount" a new carpet throughout our home because "sunlight" may have caused the random discoloration in patches of our home (present upon installation, and getting progressively worse). Gray carpet was installed 7/15 and had sublte areas of violet discolored patches in dining area and master bedroom, dining area patches have more than doubled in size and changing from violet to hot pink.
Major lack of integrity in this company and their warranties.
The floor supervisors have yet to give me a contact for their supervisor.
We hired Empire Today out of Dotaville, GA on November 20, 2017 to install carpeting in my master on the main, staircase to the second floor and all second floor bedrooms. During negotiations, we brought to the attention of Todd Lipton, the Sales Rep., that we were in poor health condition and could not move heavy furniture. We went room-by-room detailing what the installers would move. Secondly, I was concerned about the use of subcontractors on the job. He assured me that a foreman would be present throughout the entire job. He also stated we would be the only job of the day and that they would pick up the carpeting at the warehouse and come directly to our job, siting it would be a
full day job and possibly a few hours the following day. Well, on installation day, I got a recorded phone call from Empire Today stating that the installers were on another job first and that they could not give me a definitive time as to when they would arrive at my home.
I called Todd expressing extreme disappointment. He told me to simply remain patient and let them do their job. I expressed the concern about arriving late and doing damage to my house for the sake of finishing the job. I got a hold of Ryan, the owner of the subcontracting company, who promised me that a "crew” would be there by noon and that a second "crew” would arrive between 2:00-3:00. He said that he
would not be present at the job, but would come for a final walk-through at the end of the job. Again, I called Todd Lipton stating that the owner was not going to be present on the job. Todd changed his story to say that an "experienced” installer would be in the job. Well, the experienced installer had only been with the company for less than two months, this according to the installer. In addition, the first "crew” consisted of this person there less than two months, the other installer that demolished my staircase, and a cleaning woman that did not clean. At 3:00, when the other group failed to arrive, I called Ryan and he said the second group was not needed. I said it most definitely
was. The installers finished my job at 7:45pm that evening. My staircase has $1,100 in damage, I had to replace furniture that I was not suppose to. Finally, the owner/installer never came by for a final walk through. I never to this day received documentation that I was suppose to receive upon completion of installation on care and maintenance of the carpeting for warranty purposes. I have, or was, in contact with Dawn Lee in customer service who promised me they would work swiftly and amicablyto resolve this issue. I have called and texted her a number of times in recent weeks and she has not had the decency to return any calls. I am asking for the $1,100 in repairs and a $500
credit toward my purchase for having to do things to restore my house back to normal that were not part of my contract. This while job from start to customer complaints has been dealt with disgracefully by Empire Today. I asked the installers had they had a lunch break. They said no. They were loading carpet onto the truck at 8:00 that day until finishing up at 7:45 that evening, nearly a twelve hour non-stop workday for them. It is no wonder that damage was done.
On 11/1/17 I entered into a contract with Empire for flooring and installation. My installation was scheduled for 11/15/17. I had a responsible adult there to represent me and meet the installation team. My representative was told the installation couldn't be done. A language barrier (on the part of the installation team) prevented comprehensive understanding of the flooring issue. I repeatedly attempted to contact Empire. I wanted a document stating why the installation could not happen, listing the issues that needed to be resolved to complete my flooring. I also requested copies of the photos that the installation team took of my flooring. I specifically asked for an email message instead of a phone call. I have sent at least 4 Web Customer Service requests. I have made numerous phone calls to customer service. Each call to customer service assures me that I should be contacted in 24 business hours.
I received neither email message nor phone call.
The only person that responds to me is the initial sales rep that measured my home and brought flooring samples to choose from. This employee has stated that he has attempted to reach out to managers on my behalf.
I am in a position where i have no idea what needs to be corrected in order to move forward.
We hired Empire Today out of Dotaville, GA on November 20, 2017 to install carpeting in my master on the main, staircase to the second floor and all second floor bedrooms. During negotiations, we brought to the attention of Todd Lipton, the Sales Rep., that we were in poor health condition and could not move heavy furniture. We went room-by-room detailing what the installers would move. Secondly, I was concerned about the use of subcontractors on the job. He assured me that a foreman would be present throughout the entire job. He also stated we would be the only job of the day and that they would pick up the carpeting at the warehouse and come directly to our job, siting it would be a
full day job and possibly a few hours the following day. Well, on installation day, I got a recorded phone call from Empire Today stating that the installers were on another job first and that they could not give me a definitive time as to when they would arrive at my home.
I called Todd expressing extreme disappointment. He told me to simply remain patient and let them do their job. I expressed the concern about arriving late and doing damage to my house for the sake of finishing the job. I got a hold of Ryan, the owner of the subcontracting company, who promised me that a "crew” would be there by noon and that a second "crew” would arrive between 2:00-3:00. He said that he
would not be present at the job, but would come for a final walk-through at the end of the job. Again, I called Todd Lipton stating that the owner was not going to be present on the job. Todd changed his story to say that an "experienced” installer would be in the job. Well, the experienced installer had only been with the company for less than two months, this according to the installer. In addition, the first "crew” consisted of this person there less than two months, the other installer that demolished my staircase, and a cleaning woman that did not clean. At 3:00, when the other group failed to arrive, I called Ryan and he said the second group was not needed. I said it most definitely
was. The installers finished my job at 7:45pm that evening. My staircase has $1,100 in damage, I had to replace furniture that I was not suppose to. Finally, the owner/installer never came by for a final walk through. I never to this day received documentation that I was suppose to receive upon completion of installation on care and maintenance of the carpeting for warranty purposes. I have, or was, in contact with Dawn Lee in customer service who promised me they would work swiftly and amicablyto resolve this issue. I have called and texted her a number of times in recent weeks and she has not had the decency to return any calls. I am asking for the $1,100 in repairs and a $500
credit toward my purchase for having to do things to restore my house back to normal that were not part of my contract. This while job from start to customer complaints has been dealt with disgracefully by Empire Today. I asked the installers had they had a lunch break. They said no. They were loading carpet onto the truck at 8:00 that day until finishing up at 7:45 that evening, nearly a twelve hour non-stop workday for them. It is no wonder that damage was done.
I have reported Empire to the BBB and the state. I have scheduled 3 appointments for a repair of the defective blinds I purchased (+$1,000) and each time there was a no call or no show. I have called and have not had my calls returned to me. I have taken off of work on three occasions for their serviceman and nothing. Empire Today is one of the worst, unreliable, and dishonest companies I have ever dealt with.
I called the company in September about my carpet coming apart at the seam. October 13, installers came out and said it wasn't the seam after they tore it up more. They stated carpet is falling apart because I steam cleaned my carpet.
Today I am told that voids the warranty. Then I was told that if I have a professional cleaning receipt they would look into it.
I told them no where did it state you can not steam clean. If they had no one would buy their carpet. I told them if it falls apart like that then their carpet is junk. I have never heard of carpet not being able to be cleaned.
Chris Nelson at Empire today sold me carpet and installation in our commercial building. Including furniture removal. They no showed 2 times. Failed to complete the job 2 times in addition. I finally had to hire furniture removal separately. Chris would not return calls and or texts. I have spent nearly 5 hours on hold and or talking with the cooperate office. They do not return calls and or follow through. At this point carpet is still not installed causing several thousand in delays. Avoid business with Empire today at all costs
Per the contract signed on 07/27/2017 with Empire Today, activity ID 1- 2738624507, the company was supposed to install Newport 3.25 hardwood for 2 rooms: living room and dining room in my house at Woodridge, IL 60517. However, the installation was done with a sub-standard and inferior quality hardwood, namely, Armstrong Bruce 3.25, APK3416LG.
The installation was completed on 08/01/2017, and from the day one, I have started observing multiple scratches and chippings all over the newly installed floor. Accordingly, I have called Empire Today to visit and to address the issues. The company has asked the installer to do a touch up work which has been completed. However, even after the touch up, I have observed new scratches, marks, and chippings. Meanwhile I researched the (installed) Armstrong Bruce hardwood complaints on the internet and I have found that it’s a sub-standard and inferior quality hardwood which is easily susceptible to scratches and chippings!
Upon making further contacts with the Empire Today Customer Relation section, the company has sent an inspector for having a fresh review and assessment of the repair issues.
They have agreed to replace about fifteen (15) plus wooden planks and an offer of $ 500 for the inconvenience. I have turned down this offer, as it would only address the current problems but not the major issue of installing an inferior and sub-standard quality wood which is susceptible to marks, scratches, and chips off. Moreover, replacing a few of those wooden planks is more destructive and is not a seamless operation. I have asked them for a simpler solution – to provide a Buff and two coats of water based polyurethane coats which could shield the surface from further chips off and marks. Empire Today has tried to offer a 20% refund towards repair and the inconvenience, however, it was turned down on the basis that for getting a Buff and Coat, I would be spending at least an amount of $ 1200 or so, which is just the bare cost of getting the defective and inferior quality wood faults embedded with a ployurethane shield and do not prop up again and again!
Carpet installed 4 years ago and is now excessivly worn in a large part of the carpet. I have contacted the company several time and when they finally got back to me they requested that I have the carpeting professionally cleaned even though I regualarly clean the carpet with my home machine. I reluctantly agreed to do this and called Stanley Steemer to clean it.
When Stanley Steemer came out they did indeed clean the carpet and at that time advised me that the area I thought was just stained was actually not stained but rather it was the shadow effect of the backing on the carpet showing through due to excessive wear.
I email Ms. Anthony about this along with before and after photo's in August 2017 and advised her of the report I received from Stanley Steemer. I specifically requested that she call my cell phone and the number they had on file was no longer monitored. As of September 2017 I have not received a response. I emailed again and again asked her to call me and a few minutes later the email returned with the message address rejected. I do not know if she does not work there anymore or are they blocking my email address.
I will call one last time and if no response I will be forced to file a small claims lawsuit against Empire Today.
Purchased EMPIREs carpet and laminate for $5000, 2 days to get this done, day one, recieved a call from customer services indicating the sales person ED didnt set it up correctley and they couldnt do the carpet due to the liablity of installing only 1 and not the other, mind you i already took a day off with out pay. and was told they had an excellent crew to do both. Today 2nd day was called at 730AM that we were 1st stop and would be at our house in 1-2 hours and its is now 11:30AM and the driver doesnt have the tools to do laminate, he was not told to do both and he would have to come out a 2nd day.
Oh wait, the dirver indicated he didnt know the house had furniture and that he only had his nephew to move a 4 bedroom house. Now my husband has to help move and they want us to pay at the end of the completion. WOW
not to mention today is my 11 old son bday, now we are stuck all day at home.
Im very upset at this point, called the sales guy Ed, who has been with the compay for over 35 yrs. and now he isnt returning my call. It could be a coincedence. But at this point, if there work is as bad as the customer services so far. We are in big trouble. VERY dissappointed with this service, but ED had no problem taking our 400 dollars for down payment.
This is the worst company with whom I have ever attempted to do business. No one showed up for the scheduled in home estimate. I called 20 minutes before the end of scheduled time at which time the woman with whom I spoke informed me, after an unsuccessful attempt contacting the representative, "he still has 20 minutes, ma'am." At 5 minutes after the scheduled time ended, I called again, and got disconnected. I waited thinking they would call me back. They did not. I called again at which time I got disconnected yet again. Shockingly no one called me back. The third time I called, the woman said, "I'm sorry ma'am. I can offer you $50 off your purchase." As tempting as THAT sounded...I would never enter into a contract with these clowns!
We bought our home and prior to move in we wanted all new carpet. The previous owners had dogs inside and we have allergies. So we called Empire. The installers came out and finished the job in a matter of hours. With their discounts our price was about 7k. We move in and the dining room remained empty except for boxes of glasses and pictures and things like that. Weeks later we get the room emptied out. And discover a warped baseboard, which was soft and slightly moist to the touch. We wonder if we may have a water leak. A leak detector came out and cut 3 holes in the wall looking for a leak, there was none. Confused we call the home inspector. He comes out and discovers urine stains and urine scent under the carpet in the padding and rusty tack boards. He suggested we call empire and provided us a report and pictures of what the issue was. We have made multiple calls to empire with no resolution.
After asking multiple times for a license number and being told they don't have it, I found it. I asked them if that was the correct number and they lied and said no! A representative said all they would do is replace the padding. However the boards are rusted, my new carpet is unsanitary, my baseboards have soaked up the urine, and I now have 3 holes in my wall to search for a leak that never existed, not to mention a 125.00 plumbing bill for nothing. We asked them to replace everything in that room, carpet, padding, tack boards, and the baseboard in that corner. They refused. It is also unbelievable that a company would deny a customer their license number multiple times, then claim the number on their invoice is not actually the correct number. This is a horrible experience. Also, one of the installers offered to carpet part of our garage on the side for cash, said that's his side hustle. Perhaps that's where the new padding went that we did not get, we now suspect that they keep materials for their personal work on the side.
I had wood floors installed in my newly purchased home by Empire today on 4/7/17. A couple weeks later my floor buckled and bubbled in one area, it was not even one month installed. I contacted Empire Today and they sent back their contractors to inspect the floor. The moisture reading in the area of the buckling and bubbling was 78, they claimed that the prior moisture reading was 4.5. I was then told by Empire to call a plumber, I did, he came out inspected and found no leaks. He then advised that I contact a heating and air company in which I did, they came out and found no leaks. Empire is now stating that they do not cover moisture and is refusing to repair my floor. Empire advised that if I want the floor repaired it would cost $1295.95. Empire stated I initialed the box where it says the low moisture reading. I should have checked to make sure the moisture reading was correct.
I asked how was I suppose to know where and how to check for moisture. I advised that the contractors did not take the reading in the area where its now bubbling & buckling. She said no matter they did not cover moisture. Now my floor are ruined and I have to take them to small claims court.
I have a complaint against Empire Today and I am not happy with there product. We have used Empire Today before with no problem and you would think that they would like to make there customers happy.
On 2/27/17, we had Empire today install Engineers Hardwood floors in our kitchen & dining room and at that time everything was OK. About 3 days later around 3/3/17, we notice some scratches and we called Empire today and reported our findings. We got no feedback from them and we called them numberous times finally they got back to us after so much stress they caused us.
We are Senior Citizens who have no children or pets living in our apartment and we wear slippers in our house. They had the nerve to say we did these scratches ourselves that's not true at all. No one came to look at our floors and I do believe that some of the Hardwood were defected how can scratches occur after only 3 days?
They were very ruid and they just didn't want to work with us at all. We took out a payment plan with Wells Fargo to pay for this Hardwood floor. An we will honor this payment plan even though there product is defected. We stand by our obligations and we don't want to ruin our good credit. Any help you can provide us with will be appreciated. Thank you
We had our entire downstairs recarpeted and after the crew left, we noticed a 6 foot cut right across our living room. We had Empire come out, but instead of fixing it, they put glue on it! Our sales guy has been completely unresponsive and even after the company sent someone out to look at it, we cannot get anyone on the phone to resolve this issue. it has been over a month and I am basically going to have to dispute this transaction as the carpet looks worse now than it ever looked before!
The other issue is that they put all the small items from a shelving unit into a trash bag and threw it outside. It contained a collection of over 20 snow globes that my wife had purchased during our travels over the past decade. Aftter the job was complete, we went to unpack them and every one had been broken.
Avoid Empire and go with a reputable company if you want you and your property to be treated with respect and have a proper installation done!
We had a pipe burst that flooded our basement. I called three different companies and Empire had a sales associate sent out almost immediately. She had samples of carpet and tile and was very knowledgeable. I was able to choose what I needed and it was all good. Then.. at the end of our conversation concerning price, etc. She had a contract to sign. Meaning make the decision right now. I was comfortable with that. In the contract it stated I had three days to cancel the contract with no questions asked. I had no intention of cancelling. However, she did not explain that the three days was only if I ordered custom work, ie window treatmens, blinds such as that.
The appointment for installation was set up and I was assured both the tile and carpet would be installed on the same day which was great. The morning of the installation I received all call that all was well and they would be there by ten. About thirty minutes later I was called and told that we wouldnt be getting the carpet as it was raining. I am sorry, but it does rain in Georgia and a company that toots that is is a great company should have back up. Not to mention the work was contracted out from someone that lives almost three hours from my home! Two hours later I receive a call saying the tile installer was still 45 mintues out and he had had a flat tire!
The work was not started until the following day. I can honestly say I think I could have installed it better!
I work full time and my step son is deaf. He can read lips but he is uncomfortable around people he does not know. So I missed a full day of work and could not be there to see what was done.
The sales rep that I had spoken to and met would not return my phone calls or answer a text. There is NO direct number to reach anyone and an email always states " Do Not Reply".
If ever need carpet, tile anything I will make sure to steer anyone away from them.
The installation was inferior, the service was inferior, no one knows what is going on with the contractors they hire and I do not believe I spoke to the same person twice the six times I called. The only constant was the recorded message from Empire.
On 10/24/2016, I went under Window Treatment Specification with Empire via WO# VD01378-4757754 for 7 windows; 3 roller blinds and 4 Faux wood. My appointment #1 11/28/2016 the Faux Wood blinds installed; however, I was told they could not find the roller blinds. No follow up from Empire on status of (3) missing blinds. On 12/16/2016 installer installed 3 blinds. The blind in the living room the roller is cut short in the window; however, the blind is covering the window. The blind in the biggest window by the patio roller was cut incorrectly so it had to be re-ordered. Was told Manager would call me back - no call. On 12/13/2016 placed a call into Empire Customer Service to have Supervisor call - no call. On 12/30/2016 installer installed blind that had to be re-made, but the blind still does not cover my patio window.
Called Empire while Installer was present to ask they just make me another Faux Wood blind like the rest in the house - no call from Manager. On 12/30/2016 called Customer Service to find out status of my request. Was transferred to Earl Installation Manager, he never returned call. on 1/5/2017 per Empire blind would be in on 1/13. 1/13/2017 called Empire and advised blind was in. When I spoke with Installer I was advised they re-made the same roller blind that does not work in the window. At this point, I want the 3 roller blinds that DO NOT WORK in my house to be made to the Faux Wood where I had no issue. Also want the recalculate the price, which should be $394.00 credit. For a total owed 1606.00, which I did the financing.
Empire Today removed our living room carpet and old laminate flooring they sweeped the dust from the cement floor. Semi-vaccumed some areas. By the time we came to check it was too late installers were cutting/grinding 36' of edging 1/4" on up.. around a granite rock wall to make the new flooring fit. Rock & cement dust flew throughout the house. They also cut laminate boards, out in front of the house causing dust to come into the house. We had to open all windows. During this time they did not install proper equipment or ventilation to contain the dust. The whole house is a mess, including under the new floors. We cleaned the whole house (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) from ceiling, walls, windows, curtains, kitchen, closets, bathrooms, cabinets, everything.. and vacuumed 8'x36' granite rock walls. Mopped floors dozens of times. The floors are black when mopped... Nothing is working..dust odor remains in the house. We both have headaches, coughs throat burns. We can taste the odor in our mouths. We went to the doctors, we have allergies, husband has asthma and respiratory problems. We can no longer stay in our house, since Dec. 13, 2016. We've been calling Empire Today customer service (800-588-2300) for a 2 -1/2 weeks now. We entered two work service tickets, they informed us a manager will call us in 24 hrs. Also left a message at 866-588-2334, X4541. Floor Installation Oct. 25th . The first call to Empire was Dec 21st. On Dec. 30th finally received a call from Regional Manager to meet with a Floor Supervisor. We haven't heard from anyone yet on how are they going to resolve this problem. This has now become a health issue.
I wanted to share our recent in-home estimate experience from Empire Today. We contacted them through their website for an estimate on laminate flooring for the first floor of our home (approx. 1000sq.ft.) after seeing the special of "Buy 1 room, Get 2 free". We appear to be a young couple and this is our starter home in a young family community. The appointment was very convienent to scedule and someone was able to come by the very next day. This was the end of the pleasant part of our experience.
We wanted to replace our engineered Hardwood floors with possibly laminate as there has been a huge problem with the poly adhearing to the wood floors. It peels off the floor and more sticks to your feet than where it should actually be. We also have carpeting in our living room by the backdoor of our home and with 2 dogs, the carpeting has become stained due to wet springs and winters.
The gentleman arrived about 45 minutes after the beginning of our time window (5:00pm-7:00pm) but was very quick to state that when we are asked during the follow up experience survey phone call that he was within his time frame. Due to this, the appointment ran much later than expected (8:15pm) delaying our schedules. Throughout the evening he continued to tell us what we would be asked during the follow up phone call and then tell us what to say.
We first were given the entire speech about how great the company is and blah, blah, blah. After a full day of work, understandably my husband was rather impatient and ready just to get to business and pick some flooring.
When asked about our budget I informed the salesman that he was our first estimate and since this was our first reno we didn't have too good of an idea of costs but were hoping to keep it around $5,000. (I still don't know if this is a good starting point for laminate flooring as we are expecting our next estimate tomorrow.) I explained that our neighbor recently had new floors installed in their home and since we have the same floor plan we were expecting to spend around the same or slightly more than they spent since we would be including the kitchen, something they did not upgrade.
The longer the gentleman talked the more obvious the pitch became too good to be true. He went on and on about how the installation is where Empire will be doing such a superior job which is why they won't be the lowest bid. I am ok with not getting the cheapest as long as it is quality workmanship. After we discussed the budget, we could tell the estimate would be HIGH because the salesman stated we should only refloor one room now and after we save up more money they will come back and do another and so on, piece by piece, room by room.
Now even though this is the first time I have been incharge of getting new floors picked and installed doesn't mean I have never dealt with flooring before and anyone with a brain knows better than to do his plan as the flooring color would risk the chance of not matching since it was from a different batch of flooring planks. But in order to move forward and get on with it we agreed to only have him measure the master bedroom, dressing area and closet (just to get an idea of the cost since it would be about 1/3 of the entire area that we would opbviously be flooring with someone else) which came out to 287 by his estimate. I also knew he had mismeasured since I have the floor plans and exact measurements, like I said not the first time I have been around a floor reno. He also suggested we could pick multiple types of laminate for the different rooms (bedroom, living room and dining which flow together. In an open floor plan can you imagine what that would do to the home resale value!
As he measured, myhusband and I looked at the choices and picked 3. Only 1 of which I didn't detest. We were given 3 sample books (high end, mid grade and, the stuff of special) that had a grand total of 12 choices. Each book had very dark colors, a medium color, and a very light color, we wanted a medium color. Of the 3 choices we picked for our estimate only 1 was what I would consider a medium color.
The pitch then continued after he measures the room. He stated how superior the installation and warranty were and that since this isn't our forever home the warranty is transferable to future owners, a major selling bonus. That about pushed me over the edge since I know how rare that is, and by pushed me over the edge I just about laughed at him.
*FYI after he left I googled the flooring and warranty information which was on Empire's website and it clearly states that it only covers the purchaser and is NOT transferable. So aside from the pitch and lack of choices, the salesman was outright lying just to make a sale.
Here comes the best part:
The estimates were for 287 sq. feet. All choices were 7mm laminate.
Choice 1: the nice stuff $5,769.95 ($20.10/sqft)
Choice 2: ehhh $5,189.10 ($18.08/sqft)
Choice 3: the junk on special reg. price $4,789.95 ($16.69/sqft) or on sale for $3,334.50 ($11.62/sqft)
Can you imagine the anurism that nearly happened in our dining room upon hearing this?
We politely declined the numerous offers including the 15% educator discount on the choices that weren't on special as well as the reduction on the flooring that was on special since we are "so nice and were such a lovely couple" (don't ya love those types of discounts!). So as I did the math in my head it would have cost $20,000+ for the choice I could have lived with for only 1000 sq.ft.!
The salesman continued to try to persuade us to sign a contract at that time which was now well past his 7pm time window and went to "make a call for us". His manager then approves him to sell us the junk on special for $2490. That's a 48% reduction in price!
Now aside from this being our first estimate, I was not about to sign anything due to the lack of choices and the pressure in his voice. He then tried one last time to get us to buy with the infamous try the old "guilt trip" move. While I was empathetic that you believe your trip home will take 1.5 hours even though I know the area and its about 50 minutes away, and I also pity that you will have to wake up at 4am to drive to Charleston for a conference guilt trips won't work on me. My husband is a former Marine and I am an elementary school teacher. If I can say no to children and stick with it even though they have the most precious little faces, I can assure you I will be able to stick with my decision not to buy anything yet. My husband got a good laugh from this after he left at watching his "stone cold wife shut him down" (as he put it).
The following day (being the nerd/teacher who is able to do basic math that I am), I sat down and did a few caluculations.
For the Flooring on special, the initial price would have been $4,789.95 and the special took off 2/3 the supply cost -$1,455.45. So in total the supplies would cost $2,183.18 for 287 sq ft! That's $7.61 per sqft, I still havn't found a retail price that high for 7mm laminate not installed.
I then determined the precentage of total cost that is supply cost (45.6%) versus installation/operating cost (54.4%). I used this scale later when comparing there costs with a Lumber Liquidation store and with the amount my neighbor spent on flooring for their home.
When the price was reduced to $2490 ($8.68/ sqft) the "lowest they could offer" the supply cost was comparable to retail price for 12mm laminate with attached pad. I still couldn't justify this cost for only the bedroom; aside from the price I knew that if they are able to reduce the price almost 50% that money is coming from the markup somewhere and the installers are going to be paid crumbs compared to the amounst Empire would receive.
Since our meeting I have been looking into some of the flooring offered and I have come to find they have a 4x's the amount markup for the IDENTICAL flooring at retail price. This would lead one to also assume this is the markup on the "labor and operating cost". I may have even been tempted a little at sale price for supplies but for the saleman to mark down so quickly and so much from such a high number and to know that mark down was not solely coming off the supply cost but also the installation cost, I would not feel right accepting it.
My husband says the best part of the entire pitch was the "if you sign now we will also waive the lock your price in now fee and you will get a free Mr. Empire bobble head! If we had purchased our floors with you and with that bobble head constantly looking at me head nodding saying, "you're a broke dummy". I then would really hate myself and not just hate I wasted 2 hours listening to the entire schpeel!
In the end we will most likely be buying from our local flooring store and having a local installer do the installation, something I truely wanted to do from the get go. And we will probably spend $1,000's less and get a higher quality laminate even though the salesman did try to convince me that "12mm laminate was not better than 7mm", that 2 dogs won't be able to destroy their product because it was "astounding and waterproof because they could line the inside of a swimming pool with it if we wanted to".
I don't know if they thought I was young and stupid or hoped I wouldn't follow up on other estimates, but I suspect they hope I'm stupid.
Honestly, if they expect to remain in business they need to get their sales practices under control and they don't need to treat potential consumers like they are idiots. I may not be the oldest person to buy flooring (28yrs old) but my mama didn't raise no fool! I know when I'm being lied to and to think laminate is waterproof and I know when a pitch sounds too good to be true that it probably is.
I purchased wood flooring from Empire Today store.
When we asked about the floor durabiliy, We were told the wood bamboo panels would wear well. Upon installation actually immedatedly after the floor was laid down. We noticed scratches. My husband and I live alone in the house, no little children,no pets. and we wear slippers in the home.
We raised complaints to the store and home office. A inspector came to look at
the floor and agreed with us the floor had way to many scratches.. Best results we obtained was an offer of another floor of equal or lesser value. But we would have to pay for installation, which would cost us another 2,000.00. we found that unacceptable, considering the cost of the flooring was $7,000.00.
We are not happy at all.We would never give any business to Empire today ever again. We tell all our friends Never use Empire Today.
We contacted Empire on Thursday, October 27th, the same day we had evicted a tenant from our rental property. Needless to say the carpet in the house was beyond disgusting. I had to work so my wife met with the salesman, Chris. We had had to move in by November 1st. My wife was under extreme stress and Chris reassured that he would take care of the situation. My wife explained to Chris that we wanted real wood flooring to increase the homes value so we could sell it in a year or two. My wife was skeptical because the estimate did not break down the separate cost of materials, labor, etc., but Chris told her if the contract was not signed that day the project could not start until the following week.
We decided to go with the contract because we had to move in the following week. The project cost was $10,900. The install was scheduled to begin on Friday, October 28th. The install was complete and the floors looked very nice. However, the next day we noticed movement in the boards throughout the house, the stairs have hundreds of nail holes, and some of the stair boards are not level. The Empire install coordinator, Joe Bell, came out to check out these issues. Joe told my wife that the movement in the boards was due to the type of wood that was used, and there was no way to repair it. My wife asked Joe what kind of wood was used and Joe told her it was a wood veneer, which has a very thin wood surface and that the rest of the board is a composite material. Joe explained that the veneer wood is not 100% hardwood but is used in Florida because of the high humidity. Therefore this type of wood will put us at a disadvantage when reselling the home and does not add value.
Joe called the next day and told us the General Manager agreed to replace the floor but we would have to pay the difference in the cost of the wood and installation. We had already spent more than we budgeted for and asked for a refund. Joe said he could not make this type of decision and he would talk with the General Manager of the Tampa office, Scott Heath, and call us back that afternoon.
The next day was Friday and since we had not received a call back we contacted Joe. Joe told us that Scott was out of town until Monday. After several phone calls, I finally spoke with Scott Monday evening. Scott said that Empire had done what they were contracted to do and would not terminate the contract. I asked him for contact information to the corporate customer service manager and Scott told me he would talk with Tim Sherwin, the Regional Manager, and have him call us.
The next day, after waiting for a call I finally called Empire back and was eventually connected with Tim. Tim said he had not called because he was waiting for all the details on the installation from the inspection. I explained to Tim that we were misled regarding the type of flooring used and wanted our money refunded. After some discussion back and forth, Tim became irritated and basically told me they had done what they were contracted to do, and the bottom line was he would not refund our money or terminate the contract. We asked how he could make a decision without the information from the inspection, he told us there was nothing else to discuss and gave me his phone number for our attorney.
We are considering legal action since we were misled about the wood, there was no detail in the contract about the costs, and Empire did not comply with the contract regarding the type of installation, which should have been adhesive, not floating. I encourage any other dissatisfied customers to contact me to join me in legal action against Empire.
After about a week we got a call from Scott and he personally came out the next day to check out the installation and discuss our issues. He thought the contract specified a floating install and continued to tell us the movement was normal. I then showed him my copy of the contract pointing out the installation type was adhesive, he seemed surprised. After another week Scott called and said Empire was willing to replace the flooring and install it correctly with adhesive. While weighing our options on what to do I have tried to contact Scott to get something in writing outlining detailed information on what exactly Empire would do for the replacement and have not had a call back.
Completed order with them promised delivery on 12/12. No show. Rescheduled to 12-13. Waiting for them then they called and said CARPET was out of stock until 7 to 10 days. Promise things they cannot deliver. Don't do business with them. NEVER.
First the sales had made an estimates for the room and living room .. after signing everything was ok.. When the installation team arrived for my surprise the room was not included. So i call in to cancel and the cancellation agent was able to get the room approved for the same amount that i paid, but i had to wait some days for the room since they did not have the materialthe living room was installed, but has been 10 days Calles 5 times and i am not able to get in touch with nobody that can help The information that they provide me that the sales manager will be calling me on the next 24 business hours that promise has been 5 days with no return .. everything i call they give me the same answer and i am not able to get it resolved , also i asked for a copy of the actual contract and they deny it to me .. spoke with 2 supervisors that didint do nothing to help I am at the end of my hopes.. i think they are trying to screw me and will never install the flooring on my room .. i would never recommend empire and they are very very expensive for the worst flooring company onthe market.. So unlucky to have choose this company could have save thousand of dollars and had the job done completed and corrected Just want my flooring installed and will never want to hear about empire today anymore, hope the CEO or someone that can resolve the companies issue reads this Disappointing
In April of 2016, we called for an estimate...the sales person came out and gave us a quote that seemed too high... we passed...but customer service ended up calling back and offering us the deal we wanted $1600 out the door. It turned out the house wasn't ready - so we had to pass again. It's now December 2016 and we called again to get the same deal. I told the salesman - that if he couldn't do the original deal - don't bother coming. He said the original carpet was ona. National "do not discount" list and probably won't be able to. That I should call corporate and explain and call him back. I called Corporate and they said to definitely keep the appointment, that everything is negotiable. So, the salesman showed up...he called his sales manager and he again said that the original deal is off the table, BUT we can go with our second choice (which was originally over $1300 more than the first selection for a total of $1900 - "it's definitely a higher end carpet"...so.... we offered to meet in the middle at $1750. He called and texted his sales manager again who told him - if we didn't take the deal at $1900 that he should just walk. He also called a different number at Corporate that said he COULD do the original deal...using some discount code and honor what the original offer was. But then his "boss called" regarding the $1900 deal and our salesman told him what. Corporate said and he said nope - not doable...the guy who offered that orIginal deal hasn't been with the company since May and I arm not honoring his price.!?!?!? Sooooo...we told him to walk. Why not just sell us the considerably "lower quality" carpet for the original deal of $1600...? It's the same carpet we looked at in April. ...although , now I have my heart set on the second choice :-( The whole thing doesn't make sense. Feels like being raked over the coals at a used car dealership. Bummed. I really wanted to check this off the list before Christmas break. Now I have to start from scratch with another in home estimate....
I called empire to get a quote for carpet, had the appt setup for 10-19-16 between 5pm and 7pm. the sales rep showed up at 515pm pulled accross the street from my place, called me from a restricted number ( all the time i was outside looking at him) i missed the call as my neighboor was mowing so i didnt hear my phone. so i decided to walk up to his truck, the sales guy looked right at me and drove off i called customer service at this time and they reached out to him he pulled over 8 or so houses away from mine answered the call and said he was on his way to another appt and said there was no house where i live lmfao. yes id really like to carpet my yard please!
needless to say i complained about this spoke to "several" agents including a rep named shane who when i asked for a manager he hung up on me. after speaking to 7 or so people from there we came to the understanding that this is just how they are.
well i was trying to get the carpet in because they are/were offering a promo price 50% carpet padding and install. oh here is the funny part!! its available to EVERYONE but minnesota customers. such a waste of time and its very misleading to say the least. i do hope that someone files a class action suit against them for misleading customers into getting quotes for services.
they offered me a bogus $100 credit for my time. i refused that offer, my time is worth more than that.
Three years ago we became tired of the carpets throughout our house.They were still serviceable but they were 10 years old and in need of updating. So we called Empire Today upon seeing one of their TV commercials. The Salesman was very responsive and we chose our new carpets over$10,000 worth but we were very excited. About 3 months after installation we called Empire about some damage we noticed, a small bold spot in the center of one of the rooms. We blamed our dog for that at first but when they sent a warranty inspector to look at it he told us that the pile was defective and falling out.
Empire did come out and had to reinstall carpet in two rooms. A year later after the warranty expired another hole developed in the carpet in another room. We paid $250 to Empire to patch the carpet. Three years have passed and our carpets look worn ,drabby and stained. They have also stretched out of shape in all of our rooms. We had the carpets professionally cleaned(Stanely Steemer) and they still look awful. Our only alternative seems to be to replace the carpet. The Carpet we purchased from Empire is without a doubt the worst carpet my wife and I have purchased in 40 years!
The person at the Fairfax VA Empire Today store sold us incorrect trims for our ceramic tile where it meets the carpet and the stair. He sold us items which are used for Vinyl tile. I was told by the installer that I should go to Home Depot and buy the items myself. The manager of the Fairfax VA store sent me photos of the items which I was sold incorrectly as the new items which she was getting. The installer cancelled the installation and walked off the job even though the manager of the Fairfax VA store said to stay. I was called by the salesman of the store (the one who sold me the wrong items) to come in to the store to see the new pieces. I told him that the manager was to send photos. He said no. I cancelled the entire order. This is stupid and inconvenient and should never have happened. I am so very upset. Beware, Beware, Beware.
Empire set out a sales person who promised the carpet we ordered will be installed on 9/12/16. we just moved in and spent all weekend painting the room before install on Monday 912/16. My wife stayed home waiting for the installers and no one showed by 9 AM so she called the customer service person and found out the carpet was never scheduled or ordered! called customer service and all they could do was try again, now carpet is due the 9/23/16 so they say. I called to get the answer : why wasn't the carpet ordered as promised? No one would take the time to find out Why(4 calls). I called the regional office and was promissed that I would get an answer from a monager within the hour 9/12/16 and no call (Still Waiting) called again today and still cannot get hold of a manager! I cancelled my order and was told I might see my deposit in 10 to 14 days? Now I have all my funiture and my grnd childrens furniture (Beds) in the garage wait for carpet. If I reorder from another company , the process starts all over again. I cannot get a straight answer from anyone at Empire. What would be different from Empire this time if I allow them to try to reorder the carpet again. This place is a ripoff because one they get your business they think at there mercy and forget who's the customer! seems like they took my money and ran!
Very disappointed in Empire Today in San Antonio, TX. Worked with a Mr. Dave Smith as the salesman. Grumpy dude and didn't seem to care if he made a sale or not. My wife and I were going to look at other carpet installers to compare, but decided to just go ahead with Empire Today. They have those slick commercials, so you would think they are legit. We were scheduled for installation the following Tuesday. I took day off from work to be there when they showed up. They were scheduled to show up between 11 am and 1 pm. By 1:15 pm still no show and no phone call to update us on when they were arriving. Started calling Mr. Smith and the 1-800 number for corporate. No answers. Is anyone there? After calling several numbers associated with Empire today finally got hold of a Rex Johnson. He put us in contact with the lead installer. By then I was too pissed off to be Mr. Nice. The lead installer and I got into an argument. I calmed down and he said he would be there in 20 minutes. He finally shows up with three illegal alien "assistants". They can't speak any English. The lead installer starts complaining that he started working at 5 am that morning? The absolute worst part is that they were delivering the wrong carpet! I went to inspect it and it was the wrong color and a cheaper version of what I was promised. I am thinking this is a bait and switch situation. It was not what I expected. The salesman sold me thick plush carpet based on the samples and what shows up is thin, crappy carpet. We refused the installation and called Mr. Smith. He doesn't answer the phone until an hour or so later. He starts lying about how the color is different when it is out in the sunlight. I asked him about the poor carpet quality and he said it was because it hadn't been installed and once it is stretched it will be OK. What? I could see the backing of the carpet through the pile with barely pulling apart with my fingers! Stretching is only going to make it worse. Anyway I could on about how they tried to make it right, but you are probably getting the idea. Bottom line up front is Steer clear of Empire Today.
If you ever do business with a carpet installation team, get samples of what you purchasing and compare what shows up with the sample. Also they sold us the Pet Urine Protection padding and it looked real sturdy in the sample, but what showed up was regular padding with thin layer of "protection". We are going to just get the carpets professionally cleaned and look at replacing carpet in the future. Too bad for Empire today, we had another project for them to work on. They will not be getting any recommendations from me. I have already told my co workers to not use Empire Today. Word will spread and they will be out of business soon.
Now for the Rip Off: I paid Mr. Dave Smith a $200.00 deposit which I have yet to receive. Considering filing a small claims case.
Without a doubt, THE WORST customer service I've ever experienced. For three months now I have been waiting on repairs to my floor and 4 TIMES they have scheduled to come out and not only do they not show up but they don't even bother to call me to tell me that they cannot come. When I call to find out what happened, they tell me that someone will get back to me to reschedule and nothing. I have to contact them to get an appointment because NOONE has bothered to contact me to offer an apology for inconveniencing me...when I do finally speak with someone to get scheduled for another day, that day comes, nothing....no maintenance....no call. And yesterday, they increased my credit on my finance card for further purchase at their store! I would never in my life go back to a company who could care less about their customers. They've scheduled to come out tomorrow between 10-2. More than likely I will end up calling them and re-scheduling for a future date that will never get done.