Empire today installed $4000,00 of hardwood flooring in my kitchen and dinning room area Within 1 month the seems were separating and there were several large gashes in several area of the flooring. It is just my husband and myself. We have no large dogs and no children. I do not wear heels. We are both senior citizens They did send someone out to take pictures, unfortunately they did not speak english. Within 3 business days they called to tell me the floor had water damage and that the gouges were not covered under warrenty either. I can only imagine what this floor will look like in a year.
DO NOT under any circumstances, deal with Empire today. The woman who called just kept repeating "okay, you have a good day"
I am investgating my options but if anyone has any advise on who to call or where to file a report, Please let me know asap. This is a lot of money for seniors on a limited income.
My name is Sheila and I am a former employee of Empire Today. I want to warn anyone who is thinking of doing any kind of business with Empire Today. As a customer I warn want to explain their process. First, when a Sales Rep comes and visits your home…hold out on the price because they are going to show you two prices…if you hold out they are required to call their sales manager, Keith Watrob at and if you don’t agree to that price they are to call the area sales manager Andrew Staraniec at and is you still hold out they are to call Ron Godsill at who will give you the rock bottom pricing. You will then set up an installation date, which according to their advertisement will be next day. They can not do a next day install because they only get trucks on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Besides that, they were running at least 2 weeks out when I was working for them, we were to say it was because we were so busy to increase urgency, but the truth was we didn’t have enough installation teams. With that being said, always plan on your installation date to be changed (sometimes without any notice) even if they confirm it two days prior, because of the need for installers. If you decide to cancel, your deposit may take 4 weeks to be returned, but if you decide to continue with your purchase make sure you demand a price reduction and again call the numbers about to get the best reduction possible, do not rely on customer service because they do not return calls.
As a future employee, here are my warnings: Training is adequate and you receive $300.00 for 4 weeks. Make sure you hold on to all of that money because when you start selling you will need all of it for gas, because it usually take 4-6 weeks before you start receiving any money from your sales. Then you only get dribbles coming in because they pick and choose what they want to pay you on. I still have not been paid on my first couple sales and it has been since April. I had quite a few installation cancelations that they promised to pay me on because it was not my fault and I have yet to see any of that money either to the tone of around $900.00. Another issue is scheduling, Keith who does the scheduling does not listen to when you will accept appointments if you say you will not accept a 9:00 am or a 7pm appointment you will still be scheduled for them because he has to show where he has scheduled them to corporate. Then when you call to correct the issue he is supposed to reschedule to another rep or with the customer, but I would receive calls from customer service asking why I didn’t go, making me look like I wasn’t doing my job. Also they schedule every two hours, which most of the time can work, but not when you are measuring a whole house, or when one appointment is in Columbus and the next in Dayton. They stress don’t be late to an appointment but it is just about impossible to be on time when you measure, show the product, price then have to call several managers, who don’t answer their phones, and don’t return your calls. So you may spent an hour trying to reach a manager who has to okay your departure so you can get a resolution code to see where you are to go to your next appointment. If you like 13-14 hour days this might be the job for you, I would leave the house at 8:00 am and not get home until 10:00 pm then have to spend another hour faxing in my sales that had to be in by midnight. Now some of those days I would only have 3 or 4 appointments so you have to find something to do during the down time. Another responsibility of the sales manager is to confirm your appointments, but Keith never does that so you may get to a home where they aren’t at home so when you call Keith he has to call the customer, and then allow you to leave or may tell you that the customer will be there is an hour, which automatically puts you behind on your next appointment. I didn’t accept this job to be made to look bad nor did I have an unlimited bank account to run these appointments to not be paid in a timely manner or at all on some of my sales.
My name is Sheila and I am a former employee of Empire Today. I want to warn anyone who is thinking of doing any kind of business with Empire Today. As a customer I warn want to explain their process. First, when a Sales Rep comes and visits your home…hold out on the price because they are going to show you two prices…if you hold out they are required to call their sales manager, Keith Watrob at 773-315-5548 and if you don’t agree to that price they are to call the area sales manager Andrew Staraniec at 412-498-2406 and is you still hold out they are to call Ron Godsill at 860-268-2138 who will give you the rock bottom pricing. You will then set up an installation date, which according to their advertisement will be next day. They can not do a next day install because they only get trucks on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Besides that, they were running at least 2 weeks out when I was working for them, we were to say it was because we were so busy to increase urgency, but the truth was we didn’t have enough installation teams. With that being said, always plan on your installation date to be changed (sometimes without any notice) even if they confirm it two days prior, because of the need for installers. If you decide to cancel, your deposit may take 4 weeks to be returned, but if you decide to continue with your purchase make sure you demand a price reduction and again call the numbers about to get the best reduction possible, do not rely on customer service because they do not return calls.
As a future employee, here are my warnings: Training is adequate and you receive $300.00 for 4 weeks. Make sure you hold on to all of that money because when you start selling you will need all of it for gas, because it usually take 4-6 weeks before you start receiving any money from your sales. Then you only get dribbles coming in because they pick and choose what they want to pay you on. I still have not been paid on my first couple sales and it has been since April. I had quite a few installation cancelations that they promised to pay me on because it was not my fault and I have yet to see any of that money either to the tone of around $900.00. Another issue is scheduling, Keith who does the scheduling does not listen to when you will accept appointments if you say you will not accept a 9:00 am or a 7pm appointment you will still be scheduled for them because he has to show where he has scheduled them to corporate. Then when you call to correct the issue he is supposed to reschedule to another rep or with the customer, but I would receive calls from customer service asking why I didn’t go, making me look like I wasn’t doing my job. Also they schedule every two hours, which most of the time can work, but not when you are measuring a whole house, or when one appointment is in Columbus and the next in Dayton. They stress don’t be late to an appointment but it is just about impossible to be on time when you measure, show the product, price then have to call several managers, who don’t answer their phones, and don’t return your calls. So you may spent an hour trying to reach a manager who has to okay your departure so you can get a resolution code to see where you are to go to your next appointment. If you like 13-14 hour days this might be the job for you, I would leave the house at 8:00 am and not get home until 10:00 pm then have to spend another hour faxing in my sales that had to be in by midnight. Now some of those days I would only have 3 or 4 appointments so you have to find something to do during the down time. Another responsibility of the sales manager is to confirm your appointments, but Keith never does that so you may get to a home where they aren’t at home so when you call Keith he has to call the customer, and then allow you to leave or may tell you that the customer will be there is an hour, which automatically puts you behind on your next appointment. I didn’t accept this job to be made to look bad nor did I have an unlimited bank account to run these appointments to not be paid in a timely manner or at all on some of my sales.
In June we signed a contract with a local sales rep from Empire Today which included laying a significant amount of new carpet as well as installing some vinyl tile in an entryway. The vinyl installation involved cutting-out a relatively small section of worn laminate, laying the subfloor and installing the tile. The salesman was confident in their ability to do this and included the work, in detail, on the signed contract. Of course, we put a cash deposit on the work with about a three week lead time before installation.
On the day of installation, the installers arrived with the carpet and padding, as well as the vinyl tile, but no other materials. In other words, they were not prepared to install the vinyl in the way described in the contract. They told us that they were not given the materials at the warehouse. Later that day, they told us that they "did not cut out laminate" and would not do the installation as per the contract. The carpet installation was completed as expected. We were told that the installation manager would contact us about the vinyl. We have made other attempts to contact our sales rep, customer service, really, anyone who could help us.
Five days later and no one has contacted us. Not attempt has been made by Empire Today to rectify the problem or make good on the contract. We expect the company, any company, to make a reasonable effort to fulfill their agreement. We have a valid, enforceable contract with Empire Today and they have chosen to simply ignore us. This is unacceptable and will not stand.
This company has many, many poor reviews online and complaints on various consumer complaint boards. It is unfortunate that they choose to simply ignore complaints instead of dealing with them in a professional manner. The carpet installer in our case found himself in the middle of what amounts to a contract dispute. Now, we have been left with no recourse but to seek a legal remedy. Our advice, based on this experience, find someone else to provide your flooring and installation services.
My husband and I are again looking to replace our windows in our home. We called Empire Today, LLC. back in 2001, 800-588-2300, and a salesman came to our home. I am a hard sell, and this guy was very good at his job. The total for our windows, seven small windows (30" length, 43" width), one bathroom window, and two large windows (70" length and 60" width), were quoted at approximately $4,800. This was phenomenal; when something sounds too good too be true, it usually is. A construction foreman/manager came to our home shortly thereafter. He was uncommunicative and left scratches where he'd used a box knife to scrape away the paint to reveal the material underneath the paint. I figured this out on my own, as he was not forthcoming with this information.
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 have contacted Empire Today at least 6 times in regards to repairing my vinyl floor in my kitchen. On multiple occassions they have sent out the wrong person to make repairs. Just last week we had a schedhule repairmn come out to make repairs. Upon arriving the repairman enter my home and look at the problem, he then informed me he is not a vinyl repairman he only fix carpet problems. I then called Empire again to reschedule appointment for Friday. Friday comes and I recived a call from the repairman and tells me he can't come. I then calls Empire again and the customer tells me that therepairman would not be able to come but he would be there on Saturday morning.
Repairman calls and tells me he is on his way from Charlotte N.C and he would be at my residence at 11:00 am. After arriving at my residence the repairman came inside and took some photos with his phone camera and" stated that he would be sending to his boss". He told me that he would be gone for 20 minutes and would be to correct the vinyl floor problem. Two hours went by and sign of him returning. I gave him a call on his cellphone and left a voice message stating was he coming back today or next week. He never return my call, so I then call Empire customer service 2x's and they told me that they could not get in contact with him or the Columbia, SC office.
On 3/05/2013 we met with Empire Representative "Paul Graceffo" We had very expensive, very good quality carpeting in our home but it was outdated. We had been renting out home out and had decided upon moving back in, that we would update the carpeting. "Paul" had showed us a video on their "amazing new carpet" that was used in a zoo to show how durable it was. They placed this amazing carpet in a pen that housed Rhinos. It was a timelapse of these animals just destroying the carpet, urinating, deffocating , mud and dirt all over, for days. After a week (if I remember correctly ) they cleaned the carpet and it was truly amazing how clean the cream colored carpet came! We were told it didn't matt up or flatten down. I worried about this type of carpeting being comfortable in a home, when he showed us the samples to feel. I wasn't thrilled but it being so durable was a huge plus. He quoted us some ridiculous price ( because it was new technology and of course AMAZING.
After some thinking and talking he brought the price down to almost $9000 which of course was a lot, but doable and felt worth it because of this "lifetime" warranty on top of the incredible evidence from the video. So we decided to go with it. The video combined with the warranty gave us a considerable amount of peace. That was the last time we ever spoke to "Paul". The next day the installers came. I went out to the unmarked rental van and looked at the carpet. They were in rolls so I wasn't able to really check it. I took photos of the bar codes stickers. They were quick and efficient. I was disappointed that they didn't and I wasn't able to, vacuum up after they removed the old carpet but I went with it. At one point I noticed them putting a seam right in the middle of the hallway, think this was a bad spot for a seam. He assured me it was normal. They finished and left quickly. We had mixed emotions. It was good to get the old carpet out and have fresh carpet. But the carpet looked off. Thin, cheap( like what you would find in a cheap apartment) it definitely wasn't the frisée that I had thought it was. But it was suitable and we left it. After a couple months we noticed it was dirty looking, darkened spots. We cleaned it and it didn't come clean. The main traffic area was flattened and matted down. The seams in the hallway and right down the middle of our living room had come apart and began to fray. The seam where the carpet met the hard wood at our entryway was so thin you stepped on carpet tacks and punctured your feet. It was also fraying and shedding carpet fibers. Not even cleaning brought it back to life. We use a very good vacuum and it didn't help. We made contact with Enpire to talk about our concerns, with no response. After a few months we filed a complaint and finally received a phone call from an area rep ( "Chandra Rogers") She told us we had to have it professionally cleaned. We did so and it didn't change anything. The carpet was stained, dirty looking, dis colored and matted down. She strung us along for several months back and forth about the receipt (didn't get it, couldn't read it) once I mentioned I felt strung along, she finally recieved it. We heard nothing. I had also emailed pictures of the awful carpeting. Finally over the course of 3 years, she emailed me that they were sending a "3rd party inspector" to evaluate the carpeting. He took a few snapshots. Agreed several times that the carpeting was subpar. He advised me to call or email Empire that day to find out what the next step would be. He said they would probably want a piece of the carpet unused(from the scrap they left) to show it was inferior. The inspector also stated that he would have his report to them by the end of the day. I did so and recieved a rude email in return simply stating "they wouldn't have his report for at least 72 hours and that she wouldn't be able to read it until the next week. The next week came and went... Two weeks later I emailed her again and recieved and Auto reply message saying she " was out of the office from 4/14/2013 to 4/14/2016" which of course is strange... And it was 4/18/2016... I turned to their social media page because it seemed to get a response out of them and because I now had no one to contact to address me concerns about how to proceed. Someone would comment about how sorry they are and how they pride themselves on customer experience and satisfaction. But no one did anything. This week (5/ 17/2016) we recieved a letter stating that the inspector had found in his report that nothing was wrong with the workmanship or product. That they would however out of "Goodwill" allow us to purchase the same carpet (at a discount) and pay them to put it in our home ( also at a discount). I was shocked. I emailed the inspector to ask for a copy of his report. I recieved an email telling me it would be illegal and unethical for him to give me a copy. ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL to give us a copy of a report done in our home? He's an "independent inspector" but Empire gets a copy and we don't? This company is illegal and unethical. They don't support their product, contractors, or customers. My husband has served 25 years in the military. He is an honorable and selfless man and they took advantage of us. The only recourse we have is to sue or suck it up. Empire Today is an embarrassment to the United States and should be closed down. They should not be allowed to swindle anyone else.
I received Empire Today's name from Home advisor.com when I was shopping for new flooring. I didn't bother to research Empire because of this. The salesperson promised me the world and I felt comfortable. 568 square feet at cost of $7100.00. Day of install they wanted an additional $3,000.00 cause my floor wasn't level( I was told by salesperson all of this would be covered) with having no choice I got Empire down to an additional$800.00 .Because I didn't cancel contract within first 3 days I'm on the hook for everything. Only 1 of 3 installers spoke a little bit of English, they used a sawsall to 'remove spindles from a railing( they are ruined), they removed support for a staircase, they put debris and garbage under walls,they damaged walls, scratched the new floor. The new floor is not level, it's off 1/8- 1/4 in 10-15 different areas ( Empire's response to the level floor is that it meets industry standards.. but the biggest issue is that as the Empire installers were walking out the door after completion he said NO WHEELS ON THIS FLOOR , I followed him outside and said for how long he said forever.( I told him my mother who is handicap uses a roll-aid which is a walker on 3 wheels and needs it to walk) , he said she can't use it on this floor. Now my mother is only in my home about 4x a month. The new flooring covers almost the entire 1st floor. I was never told that during the initial sale that the flooring has restrictions for HANDICAPPED people cause if i was told I would have never purchased it. I have confronted this no wheels statement with 2 managers and 4 customer service people. I have exhausted every avenue with Empire to correct this to no avail. I went on internet about Empire only to find countless similar complaints. I trusted Home advisor to have researched the company's they recommend. Home advisor' s response was that they only check to see if the company's they recommend are properly licensed and they don't check complaints on internet. If I had checked internet prior I would have NEVER EVER chosen EMPIRE TODAY.
On or about Saturday, March 12, 2016, I was expecting a consultation with Empire Today representative between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. That consultation did not occur; instead I received a call from Empire stating that their representative would not be able to keep the appointment and rescheduled the appointment with a $100 credit if there is a purchase. The second consultation was scheduled for 3/25/16 between the same hours above, and that appointment did occur with a purchase and expectation of the next-day installation as advertised on the EmpireToday website and on TV.
The bait and switch:
I gave the required 10% down of the total payment for the next-day installation. We met at my home on Friday, 3/25 at 10:40 a.m. thereabout. We completed the appointment with the flooring product selected, appointment scheduled for the next-day installation and the 10% down payment prior to 12N that day. We were told to prepare the 4 rooms for installation that Saturday, 3/25. We did! We were also told we would receive a call early the morning of the installation confirming the installation by 10:00 a.m. That did not occur. I then called the sales rep and he contacted Empire and someone from Empire called me (named "Joe", I believe). This person was a dispatcher and called me around 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
"Joe," the dispatcher called to inform us that they had no one that could come out to our house and that they would have to reschedule. This was extremely disturbing for me as it was imperative to have the installation done that day. I insisted that they try to get someone out to the house. Ater several calls to and from my home, "Joe" called and said a crew would be coming out to the house by 3:00 p.m. and would come back in the morning (Sunday) if the job was not completed. We agreed. Around 2:30 p.m. approximately, Joe called to say the flooring product ordered never made the truck and they would not be able to come out to our home. The appointment was rescheduled for the following weekend, April 2, 2016.
No intention to perform on the contract:
At this time, I am not feeling confident about Empire and decided to confirm the Saturday 4/2 appointment after perusing the contract. I noted that the $100 off for their cancellation of the consultative appointment was not showing on the contract. I then called the customer service number and reached a "manager" named Jasmine; a very nasty person.
I began telling Jasmine that I wasn't feeling very confident about Empire and confirmed the appointment for 4/2, which she confirmed, and related the above experience to her and that the credit of $100 was not applied to the total cost in the contract. She did as "Joe" did multiple times said "I'm sorry" about your experience but I could offer you $61 off of your entire bill. I inquired about the $100 credit and she said they do not show that on the contract when it is written up. Now, I'm really suspicious! She then advised me to contact the local store about the $100 credit, but that her offer of $61 is off the table if I contact the local store. I'M REALLY SUSPICIOUS NOW. I asked her to reiterate that the local store is allowed to give discounts. She REFUSED to respond to the question, stating that this was my request. So, I tried another approach and asked kif you are taking your offer "off the table" is it because I am contacting the local store. She REFUSED to answer and again responded that it was my request. She raised her voice over mine but would not answer the question.
On 3/31 we called Empire customer service and confirmed the appointment was scheduled for 4/2 installation. The customer representative (a male), confirmed the appointment and that he would have the local store call me the next day with the installation time. He also confirmed the conversation I had with Jasmine a day earlier and that she is indeed a manager after I requested to speak to one when speaking to her. He reaffirmed the appointment was scheduled for 4/2. On 4/2, we prepared the four rooms for installation. Empire did not call nor did they show up! My husband then called Empire and placed on hold for 45 minutes and finally canceled the whole project demanding our deposit to be returned. He got a female customer service agent and she expressed how "sorry" she was and that the credit will be in my account within 24 hours as it was done with a credit card/debit card. The funds have not been returned to my account.
I've had flooring installed from Empire before in May 2014 and they did an outstanding job. I was very happy to give them a high rating and to refer others to them. Not anymore! This experience is unacceptable and should shame them.
We purchased our carpet for our home from EMPIRE carpet. We were then contacted by the installers who arranged a date and time for install. A day prior to install, we had to pay to have our furniture removed from the home per Empires request, and took the day off work to be available. The date of install, nobody showed up, no call, nothing. We called the sales rep, he apologized and gave us a credit on the cost. Then Empire called to inform us that the carpet was not recieved and they need to reschedule the install. The second attempt went as planned and carpet was installed.
Less than a year later, the carpet started wearing extremely fast and had ripples. We contacted Empire. they sent an inspector out, who claimed the carpet was extremely dirty and that is why the carpet had ripples and the seams were fraying everywhere. We disputed and after several customer service reps hanging up on us, we were told they would warranty the carpet.
But we had to provide proof of carpet cleaning done "At least" every 18 months. At that time I did not know where my cleaning reciepts were located. I inquired with Empire about how the carpet cleaning had anything to do with the loose ripples and the seams coming apart. They verbally stated, that it did not correllate, but they reserve the right to refuse warranty if ALL conditions are not met. They continuously informed me that they would warranty but they were waiting on me to provide the cleaning receipts.
I was finally able to find the cleaning receipts and submitted them to Jacob Trujillo with Empire Carpet. After a few weeks, Jacob notified us that the Warranty claim was denied. I asked him why then was it initially approved pending proof of carpet cleaning. But now that the proof was submitted, it was mysteriously denied? Jacob was helpful but took 5-7 days to respond to any communication.
After a few back and forth emails, Jacob advised us that Empire would voluntarily honor the written warranty as a GOOD WILL gesture. Jacob setup a salesman to come and show us carpet samples. We picked the carpet that matched closest to what we paid for initially (wear, pet shield, weight, etc). The salesman left and about a week or two later, Jacob replied with the warranty replacement quote, around $1500 (I am not sure of the exact figure) out of our pocket to replace the carpet under the Empires written warranty!
I refused to pay out of pocket another $1500 to WARRANTY replace the faulty carpet I was already sold for $3000. A few more weeks of back and forth with Jacob, and he agreed to have the carpet replaced. But only if we signed a disclosure contract prohibitting us from "telling our experience" with Empire to anybody at anytime, and releasing Empire from any further obligations. Again, I refused to sign away any rights I may have, in order for Empire to comply with the original written contract warranty. After several weeks of back and forth emails, Jacob finally returned with a revised "Accomodation Agreement", I signed it.
Jacob scheduled the install of the replacement carpet. We took the installation day off from work, to be home for the installers, and paid to have the furniture removed. The day of the installation, a few hours prior to the appointment, we received a call that the carpet was never sent to the install crew. They informed us that they would need to reschedule again.
I called Jacob and informed him, he said he could ruin our weekend and set another appointment for Saturday or Sunday. I told him that was unacceptable and would just like to have Empire refund the money for the purchase. Jacob said he would need to contact corporate and get permission. This was in October of 2015. Jacob has never replied and has not returned any phone calls since. It is now April of 2016!
Back in May and July I hired Empire Today to install hardwood floors in my kitchen, breezeway and dining room. Weeks later I called them about the squeaking in the breezeway. The lady said give it a while to settle. I called a few weeks later about the gap in the wood and under door frames and.they sent one out to fix that (which there are still gaps). I called them recently about the squeaking which has gotten real bad all over the kitchen too. They sent someone out and he videoed and took pictures and said he would get back with me. A few days later the guy that called himself fixing the gap came back and checked the floor again. He said the kitchen and breezeway needed to be replaced, but he didn't have enough wood in the van to fix it. He said I will call you before I come back. Instead I got a call from someone name Saundra telling me it's not the wood its the floor underneath. We need to call a contractor or a subcontractor to go under the house to check the floor. He will probably have to jack up the house. Keep in mind the dining room is not like that. We are paying in the neighborhood of $7,000.00 for this flooring. That includes the carpet in the other rooms. The kitchen alone was $4,000 +. They just don't want to replace this floor. I need help with situation.
We purchased top of the line carpet about 2 years ago. It started rippling a few months ago and we called to complain about it. After numerous phone calls and several people coming out to inspect, stretch and tell us it cannot be fixed because it is crushed and needs replacing. We have very little traffic in our home and vacuum the carpets about every 3 days. The area that is rippling is not hardly ever used. We finally got word today after calling to find out what they were going to do about it, they told us that they will replace it for $1500.00. That is outrageous, unreasonable and out of the question. My mom and I live in the home and are not finacially able to fork out any more money nor should we have to. I honestly don't believe we got the quality of carpet that we chose or paid for. For the living and dining room (combined) and our den we paid $3000.00. It's not that big of an area in our mobile home.
We paid way less for previous carpeting that is 15 years old and looks better.
We were also promised that if we referred someone and they purchased carpet we would receive a gift card worth either 50 or 100 dollars and also the person who referred Empire to us. None of us has ever received any compensation. Not only that but our friends noticed some damage to a door and baseboard after the installers left. They never mentioned it either. Our friends called to let them know what had happened and they said they would send $25.00 to cover the cost. Not only was that extremely poor customer service but they never received the money.
We are just sick about this and hope that someone can help us to get what we deserve from these shysters. After reading many complaints about this business I see we are not the only ones to be ripped off. I am writing this mostly on behalf of my Mother, who paid for this on a monthly basis and who is a senior citizen on a fixed income. Thank you for providing this forum to ripped off consumers.
We have a luxury condo that tenants damaged and required a complete restoration. It is located 5 hours from our residence. Empire advertised on line that they serviced the area. We contacted them and they stated that the customer must be present for measuring and also for installation. They mentioned they were having a sale ending at the end of the month, and could install the carpet next day if material was in stock. We stated that we would have to both take two days off from work and drive 5 hours to make the appointment and have the carpet and laminate installed. We made an appointment approximately two weeks in advance. We reserved a motel room for the overnight and scheduled two days vacation for the both of us. Empire continously confirmed the appointment with reminder emails. We drove 5 hours to the unit on the day of the appointment. After arriving, and one hour before the meeting, we received a call from Empire stating that they did not have a dealer in the area. When I complained that we were greatly inconvenienced by their incompetence, both financiall and with time, they could only say "sorry". A call from the general manager was never received. We spend $15K with a local contractor to get the job done. I don't know why anyone would call or do business with Empire. With little research, anyone can see that the internet is loadd with similar complaints. Don't do business with this company. Their carelessness likely carrys over to their work. Buy local!
This company's business practices are not only deceptive but they have no regard to client satisfaction.
My situation started in July 2015 when I contacted the company to have carpeting removed from my stairs and hardwood treads and risers put in. They sent me an installer to come to my house and looked at the job and gave me an estimate. I thought the price was high and was more than I was willing to spend so I said no. A few days later another representative called me and offered me a discount. I agreed and the salesperson returned to my home to sign the contract and set up the installation. A few days later the installers arrive at my home with the wrong materials. They claimed the warehouse gave them the wrong size. I was told that they made a mistake and they would come back with a new appointment and bring the correct size. Well 3 weeks later they set another appointment and arrive back with yet the wrong size again. I asked how could they do this twice? The installers said that the company needs to special order the size and I spoke with the installation dept that asured me that this would take a few weeks being that it is a special order. So I waited a few weeks and then recieved an email with the date of installation. I waited all day and nobody arrived. I called customer service and after several transfers and escalations I was told by a manager that they can't do the job.
Well after wasting several months that was not ok. So the manager offered to carpet the stairs for free for all the wasted time and days I had to take off for this mess. I finally accepted. They sent another rep out to measure the stairs and had me pick the carpet. We set the date and yet again the day arrived and nobody showed up yet again. I called and was told they will email me for a new date and time. The new date and time arrived and I recieved a cofirming email of the date of installation and yet again nobody arrived. In fact the installers even called and told me they would be there at 4pm. I waited all day and had to take yet another day off and nobody showed. After calling customer service I was told the installers left for the day and they are not sure why they did not show up.
They wasted months of my time and had me lose 5 days of work due to their mess!
Save yourself the trouble and find another company to do business with.
Empire Today LLC Reviews
Empire today installed $4000,00 of hardwood flooring in my kitchen and dinning room area Within 1 month the seems were separating and there were several large gashes in several area of the flooring. It is just my husband and myself. We have no large dogs and no children. I do not wear heels. We are both senior citizens They did send someone out to take pictures, unfortunately they did not speak english. Within 3 business days they called to tell me the floor had water damage and that the gouges were not covered under warrenty either. I can only imagine what this floor will look like in a year.
DO NOT under any circumstances, deal with Empire today. The woman who called just kept repeating "okay, you have a good day"
I am investgating my options but if anyone has any advise on who to call or where to file a report, Please let me know asap. This is a lot of money for seniors on a limited income.
To Empire Today buyers of future employees:
My name is Sheila and I am a former employee of Empire Today. I want to warn anyone who is thinking of doing any kind of business with Empire Today. As a customer I warn want to explain their process. First, when a Sales Rep comes and visits your home…hold out on the price because they are going to show you two prices…if you hold out they are required to call their sales manager, Keith Watrob at and if you don’t agree to that price they are to call the area sales manager Andrew Staraniec at and is you still hold out they are to call Ron Godsill at who will give you the rock bottom pricing. You will then set up an installation date, which according to their advertisement will be next day. They can not do a next day install because they only get trucks on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Besides that, they were running at least 2 weeks out when I was working for them, we were to say it was because we were so busy to increase urgency, but the truth was we didn’t have enough installation teams. With that being said, always plan on your installation date to be changed (sometimes without any notice) even if they confirm it two days prior, because of the need for installers. If you decide to cancel, your deposit may take 4 weeks to be returned, but if you decide to continue with your purchase make sure you demand a price reduction and again call the numbers about to get the best reduction possible, do not rely on customer service because they do not return calls.
As a future employee, here are my warnings: Training is adequate and you receive $300.00 for 4 weeks. Make sure you hold on to all of that money because when you start selling you will need all of it for gas, because it usually take 4-6 weeks before you start receiving any money from your sales. Then you only get dribbles coming in because they pick and choose what they want to pay you on. I still have not been paid on my first couple sales and it has been since April. I had quite a few installation cancelations that they promised to pay me on because it was not my fault and I have yet to see any of that money either to the tone of around $900.00. Another issue is scheduling, Keith who does the scheduling does not listen to when you will accept appointments if you say you will not accept a 9:00 am or a 7pm appointment you will still be scheduled for them because he has to show where he has scheduled them to corporate. Then when you call to correct the issue he is supposed to reschedule to another rep or with the customer, but I would receive calls from customer service asking why I didn’t go, making me look like I wasn’t doing my job. Also they schedule every two hours, which most of the time can work, but not when you are measuring a whole house, or when one appointment is in Columbus and the next in Dayton. They stress don’t be late to an appointment but it is just about impossible to be on time when you measure, show the product, price then have to call several managers, who don’t answer their phones, and don’t return your calls. So you may spent an hour trying to reach a manager who has to okay your departure so you can get a resolution code to see where you are to go to your next appointment. If you like 13-14 hour days this might be the job for you, I would leave the house at 8:00 am and not get home until 10:00 pm then have to spend another hour faxing in my sales that had to be in by midnight. Now some of those days I would only have 3 or 4 appointments so you have to find something to do during the down time. Another responsibility of the sales manager is to confirm your appointments, but Keith never does that so you may get to a home where they aren’t at home so when you call Keith he has to call the customer, and then allow you to leave or may tell you that the customer will be there is an hour, which automatically puts you behind on your next appointment. I didn’t accept this job to be made to look bad nor did I have an unlimited bank account to run these appointments to not be paid in a timely manner or at all on some of my sales.
To Empire Today buyers of future employees:
My name is Sheila and I am a former employee of Empire Today. I want to warn anyone who is thinking of doing any kind of business with Empire Today. As a customer I warn want to explain their process. First, when a Sales Rep comes and visits your home…hold out on the price because they are going to show you two prices…if you hold out they are required to call their sales manager, Keith Watrob at 773-315-5548 and if you don’t agree to that price they are to call the area sales manager Andrew Staraniec at 412-498-2406 and is you still hold out they are to call Ron Godsill at 860-268-2138 who will give you the rock bottom pricing. You will then set up an installation date, which according to their advertisement will be next day. They can not do a next day install because they only get trucks on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Besides that, they were running at least 2 weeks out when I was working for them, we were to say it was because we were so busy to increase urgency, but the truth was we didn’t have enough installation teams. With that being said, always plan on your installation date to be changed (sometimes without any notice) even if they confirm it two days prior, because of the need for installers. If you decide to cancel, your deposit may take 4 weeks to be returned, but if you decide to continue with your purchase make sure you demand a price reduction and again call the numbers about to get the best reduction possible, do not rely on customer service because they do not return calls.
As a future employee, here are my warnings: Training is adequate and you receive $300.00 for 4 weeks. Make sure you hold on to all of that money because when you start selling you will need all of it for gas, because it usually take 4-6 weeks before you start receiving any money from your sales. Then you only get dribbles coming in because they pick and choose what they want to pay you on. I still have not been paid on my first couple sales and it has been since April. I had quite a few installation cancelations that they promised to pay me on because it was not my fault and I have yet to see any of that money either to the tone of around $900.00. Another issue is scheduling, Keith who does the scheduling does not listen to when you will accept appointments if you say you will not accept a 9:00 am or a 7pm appointment you will still be scheduled for them because he has to show where he has scheduled them to corporate. Then when you call to correct the issue he is supposed to reschedule to another rep or with the customer, but I would receive calls from customer service asking why I didn’t go, making me look like I wasn’t doing my job. Also they schedule every two hours, which most of the time can work, but not when you are measuring a whole house, or when one appointment is in Columbus and the next in Dayton. They stress don’t be late to an appointment but it is just about impossible to be on time when you measure, show the product, price then have to call several managers, who don’t answer their phones, and don’t return your calls. So you may spent an hour trying to reach a manager who has to okay your departure so you can get a resolution code to see where you are to go to your next appointment. If you like 13-14 hour days this might be the job for you, I would leave the house at 8:00 am and not get home until 10:00 pm then have to spend another hour faxing in my sales that had to be in by midnight. Now some of those days I would only have 3 or 4 appointments so you have to find something to do during the down time. Another responsibility of the sales manager is to confirm your appointments, but Keith never does that so you may get to a home where they aren’t at home so when you call Keith he has to call the customer, and then allow you to leave or may tell you that the customer will be there is an hour, which automatically puts you behind on your next appointment. I didn’t accept this job to be made to look bad nor did I have an unlimited bank account to run these appointments to not be paid in a timely manner or at all on some of my sales.
In June we signed a contract with a local sales rep from Empire Today which included laying a significant amount of new carpet as well as installing some vinyl tile in an entryway. The vinyl installation involved cutting-out a relatively small section of worn laminate, laying the subfloor and installing the tile. The salesman was confident in their ability to do this and included the work, in detail, on the signed contract. Of course, we put a cash deposit on the work with about a three week lead time before installation.
On the day of installation, the installers arrived with the carpet and padding, as well as the vinyl tile, but no other materials. In other words, they were not prepared to install the vinyl in the way described in the contract. They told us that they were not given the materials at the warehouse. Later that day, they told us that they "did not cut out laminate" and would not do the installation as per the contract. The carpet installation was completed as expected. We were told that the installation manager would contact us about the vinyl. We have made other attempts to contact our sales rep, customer service, really, anyone who could help us.
Five days later and no one has contacted us. Not attempt has been made by Empire Today to rectify the problem or make good on the contract. We expect the company, any company, to make a reasonable effort to fulfill their agreement. We have a valid, enforceable contract with Empire Today and they have chosen to simply ignore us. This is unacceptable and will not stand.
This company has many, many poor reviews online and complaints on various consumer complaint boards. It is unfortunate that they choose to simply ignore complaints instead of dealing with them in a professional manner. The carpet installer in our case found himself in the middle of what amounts to a contract dispute. Now, we have been left with no recourse but to seek a legal remedy. Our advice, based on this experience, find someone else to provide your flooring and installation services.
My husband and I are again looking to replace our windows in our home. We called Empire Today, LLC. back in 2001, 800-588-2300, and a salesman came to our home. I am a hard sell, and this guy was very good at his job. The total for our windows, seven small windows (30" length, 43" width), one bathroom window, and two large windows (70" length and 60" width), were quoted at approximately $4,800. This was phenomenal; when something sounds too good too be true, it usually is. A construction foreman/manager came to our home shortly thereafter. He was uncommunicative and left scratches where he'd used a box knife to scrape away the paint to reveal the material underneath the paint. I figured this out on my own, as he was not forthcoming with this information.
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 have contacted Empire Today at least 6 times in regards to repairing my vinyl floor in my kitchen. On multiple occassions they have sent out the wrong person to make repairs. Just last week we had a schedhule repairmn come out to make repairs. Upon arriving the repairman enter my home and look at the problem, he then informed me he is not a vinyl repairman he only fix carpet problems. I then called Empire again to reschedule appointment for Friday. Friday comes and I recived a call from the repairman and tells me he can't come. I then calls Empire again and the customer tells me that therepairman would not be able to come but he would be there on Saturday morning.
Repairman calls and tells me he is on his way from Charlotte N.C and he would be at my residence at 11:00 am. After arriving at my residence the repairman came inside and took some photos with his phone camera and" stated that he would be sending to his boss". He told me that he would be gone for 20 minutes and would be to correct the vinyl floor problem. Two hours went by and sign of him returning. I gave him a call on his cellphone and left a voice message stating was he coming back today or next week. He never return my call, so I then call Empire customer service 2x's and they told me that they could not get in contact with him or the Columbia, SC office.
On 3/05/2013 we met with Empire Representative "Paul Graceffo" We had very expensive, very good quality carpeting in our home but it was outdated. We had been renting out home out and had decided upon moving back in, that we would update the carpeting. "Paul" had showed us a video on their "amazing new carpet" that was used in a zoo to show how durable it was. They placed this amazing carpet in a pen that housed Rhinos. It was a timelapse of these animals just destroying the carpet, urinating, deffocating , mud and dirt all over, for days. After a week (if I remember correctly ) they cleaned the carpet and it was truly amazing how clean the cream colored carpet came! We were told it didn't matt up or flatten down. I worried about this type of carpeting being comfortable in a home, when he showed us the samples to feel. I wasn't thrilled but it being so durable was a huge plus. He quoted us some ridiculous price ( because it was new technology and of course AMAZING.
After some thinking and talking he brought the price down to almost $9000 which of course was a lot, but doable and felt worth it because of this "lifetime" warranty on top of the incredible evidence from the video. So we decided to go with it. The video combined with the warranty gave us a considerable amount of peace. That was the last time we ever spoke to "Paul". The next day the installers came. I went out to the unmarked rental van and looked at the carpet. They were in rolls so I wasn't able to really check it. I took photos of the bar codes stickers. They were quick and efficient. I was disappointed that they didn't and I wasn't able to, vacuum up after they removed the old carpet but I went with it. At one point I noticed them putting a seam right in the middle of the hallway, think this was a bad spot for a seam. He assured me it was normal. They finished and left quickly. We had mixed emotions. It was good to get the old carpet out and have fresh carpet. But the carpet looked off. Thin, cheap( like what you would find in a cheap apartment) it definitely wasn't the frisée that I had thought it was. But it was suitable and we left it. After a couple months we noticed it was dirty looking, darkened spots. We cleaned it and it didn't come clean. The main traffic area was flattened and matted down. The seams in the hallway and right down the middle of our living room had come apart and began to fray. The seam where the carpet met the hard wood at our entryway was so thin you stepped on carpet tacks and punctured your feet. It was also fraying and shedding carpet fibers. Not even cleaning brought it back to life. We use a very good vacuum and it didn't help. We made contact with Enpire to talk about our concerns, with no response. After a few months we filed a complaint and finally received a phone call from an area rep ( "Chandra Rogers") She told us we had to have it professionally cleaned. We did so and it didn't change anything. The carpet was stained, dirty looking, dis colored and matted down. She strung us along for several months back and forth about the receipt (didn't get it, couldn't read it) once I mentioned I felt strung along, she finally recieved it. We heard nothing. I had also emailed pictures of the awful carpeting. Finally over the course of 3 years, she emailed me that they were sending a "3rd party inspector" to evaluate the carpeting. He took a few snapshots. Agreed several times that the carpeting was subpar. He advised me to call or email Empire that day to find out what the next step would be. He said they would probably want a piece of the carpet unused(from the scrap they left) to show it was inferior. The inspector also stated that he would have his report to them by the end of the day. I did so and recieved a rude email in return simply stating "they wouldn't have his report for at least 72 hours and that she wouldn't be able to read it until the next week. The next week came and went... Two weeks later I emailed her again and recieved and Auto reply message saying she " was out of the office from 4/14/2013 to 4/14/2016" which of course is strange... And it was 4/18/2016... I turned to their social media page because it seemed to get a response out of them and because I now had no one to contact to address me concerns about how to proceed. Someone would comment about how sorry they are and how they pride themselves on customer experience and satisfaction. But no one did anything. This week (5/ 17/2016) we recieved a letter stating that the inspector had found in his report that nothing was wrong with the workmanship or product. That they would however out of "Goodwill" allow us to purchase the same carpet (at a discount) and pay them to put it in our home ( also at a discount). I was shocked. I emailed the inspector to ask for a copy of his report. I recieved an email telling me it would be illegal and unethical for him to give me a copy. ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL to give us a copy of a report done in our home? He's an "independent inspector" but Empire gets a copy and we don't? This company is illegal and unethical. They don't support their product, contractors, or customers. My husband has served 25 years in the military. He is an honorable and selfless man and they took advantage of us. The only recourse we have is to sue or suck it up. Empire Today is an embarrassment to the United States and should be closed down. They should not be allowed to swindle anyone else.
I received Empire Today's name from Home advisor.com when I was shopping for new flooring. I didn't bother to research Empire because of this. The salesperson promised me the world and I felt comfortable. 568 square feet at cost of $7100.00. Day of install they wanted an additional $3,000.00 cause my floor wasn't level( I was told by salesperson all of this would be covered) with having no choice I got Empire down to an additional$800.00 .Because I didn't cancel contract within first 3 days I'm on the hook for everything. Only 1 of 3 installers spoke a little bit of English, they used a sawsall to 'remove spindles from a railing( they are ruined), they removed support for a staircase, they put debris and garbage under walls,they damaged walls, scratched the new floor. The new floor is not level, it's off 1/8- 1/4 in 10-15 different areas ( Empire's response to the level floor is that it meets industry standards.. but the biggest issue is that as the Empire installers were walking out the door after completion he said NO WHEELS ON THIS FLOOR , I followed him outside and said for how long he said forever.( I told him my mother who is handicap uses a roll-aid which is a walker on 3 wheels and needs it to walk) , he said she can't use it on this floor. Now my mother is only in my home about 4x a month. The new flooring covers almost the entire 1st floor. I was never told that during the initial sale that the flooring has restrictions for HANDICAPPED people cause if i was told I would have never purchased it. I have confronted this no wheels statement with 2 managers and 4 customer service people. I have exhausted every avenue with Empire to correct this to no avail. I went on internet about Empire only to find countless similar complaints. I trusted Home advisor to have researched the company's they recommend. Home advisor' s response was that they only check to see if the company's they recommend are properly licensed and they don't check complaints on internet. If I had checked internet prior I would have NEVER EVER chosen EMPIRE TODAY.
26I was ready to purchase.
On or about Saturday, March 12, 2016, I was expecting a consultation with Empire Today representative between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. That consultation did not occur; instead I received a call from Empire stating that their representative would not be able to keep the appointment and rescheduled the appointment with a $100 credit if there is a purchase. The second consultation was scheduled for 3/25/16 between the same hours above, and that appointment did occur with a purchase and expectation of the next-day installation as advertised on the EmpireToday website and on TV.
The bait and switch:
I gave the required 10% down of the total payment for the next-day installation. We met at my home on Friday, 3/25 at 10:40 a.m. thereabout. We completed the appointment with the flooring product selected, appointment scheduled for the next-day installation and the 10% down payment prior to 12N that day. We were told to prepare the 4 rooms for installation that Saturday, 3/25. We did! We were also told we would receive a call early the morning of the installation confirming the installation by 10:00 a.m. That did not occur. I then called the sales rep and he contacted Empire and someone from Empire called me (named "Joe", I believe). This person was a dispatcher and called me around 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
"Joe," the dispatcher called to inform us that they had no one that could come out to our house and that they would have to reschedule. This was extremely disturbing for me as it was imperative to have the installation done that day. I insisted that they try to get someone out to the house. Ater several calls to and from my home, "Joe" called and said a crew would be coming out to the house by 3:00 p.m. and would come back in the morning (Sunday) if the job was not completed. We agreed. Around 2:30 p.m. approximately, Joe called to say the flooring product ordered never made the truck and they would not be able to come out to our home. The appointment was rescheduled for the following weekend, April 2, 2016.
No intention to perform on the contract:
At this time, I am not feeling confident about Empire and decided to confirm the Saturday 4/2 appointment after perusing the contract. I noted that the $100 off for their cancellation of the consultative appointment was not showing on the contract. I then called the customer service number and reached a "manager" named Jasmine; a very nasty person.
I began telling Jasmine that I wasn't feeling very confident about Empire and confirmed the appointment for 4/2, which she confirmed, and related the above experience to her and that the credit of $100 was not applied to the total cost in the contract. She did as "Joe" did multiple times said "I'm sorry" about your experience but I could offer you $61 off of your entire bill. I inquired about the $100 credit and she said they do not show that on the contract when it is written up. Now, I'm really suspicious! She then advised me to contact the local store about the $100 credit, but that her offer of $61 is off the table if I contact the local store. I'M REALLY SUSPICIOUS NOW. I asked her to reiterate that the local store is allowed to give discounts. She REFUSED to respond to the question, stating that this was my request. So, I tried another approach and asked kif you are taking your offer "off the table" is it because I am contacting the local store. She REFUSED to answer and again responded that it was my request. She raised her voice over mine but would not answer the question.
On 3/31 we called Empire customer service and confirmed the appointment was scheduled for 4/2 installation. The customer representative (a male), confirmed the appointment and that he would have the local store call me the next day with the installation time. He also confirmed the conversation I had with Jasmine a day earlier and that she is indeed a manager after I requested to speak to one when speaking to her. He reaffirmed the appointment was scheduled for 4/2. On 4/2, we prepared the four rooms for installation. Empire did not call nor did they show up! My husband then called Empire and placed on hold for 45 minutes and finally canceled the whole project demanding our deposit to be returned. He got a female customer service agent and she expressed how "sorry" she was and that the credit will be in my account within 24 hours as it was done with a credit card/debit card. The funds have not been returned to my account.
I've had flooring installed from Empire before in May 2014 and they did an outstanding job. I was very happy to give them a high rating and to refer others to them. Not anymore! This experience is unacceptable and should shame them.
We purchased our carpet for our home from EMPIRE carpet. We were then contacted by the installers who arranged a date and time for install. A day prior to install, we had to pay to have our furniture removed from the home per Empires request, and took the day off work to be available. The date of install, nobody showed up, no call, nothing. We called the sales rep, he apologized and gave us a credit on the cost. Then Empire called to inform us that the carpet was not recieved and they need to reschedule the install. The second attempt went as planned and carpet was installed.
Less than a year later, the carpet started wearing extremely fast and had ripples. We contacted Empire. they sent an inspector out, who claimed the carpet was extremely dirty and that is why the carpet had ripples and the seams were fraying everywhere. We disputed and after several customer service reps hanging up on us, we were told they would warranty the carpet.
But we had to provide proof of carpet cleaning done "At least" every 18 months. At that time I did not know where my cleaning reciepts were located. I inquired with Empire about how the carpet cleaning had anything to do with the loose ripples and the seams coming apart. They verbally stated, that it did not correllate, but they reserve the right to refuse warranty if ALL conditions are not met. They continuously informed me that they would warranty but they were waiting on me to provide the cleaning receipts.
I was finally able to find the cleaning receipts and submitted them to Jacob Trujillo with Empire Carpet. After a few weeks, Jacob notified us that the Warranty claim was denied. I asked him why then was it initially approved pending proof of carpet cleaning. But now that the proof was submitted, it was mysteriously denied? Jacob was helpful but took 5-7 days to respond to any communication.
After a few back and forth emails, Jacob advised us that Empire would voluntarily honor the written warranty as a GOOD WILL gesture. Jacob setup a salesman to come and show us carpet samples. We picked the carpet that matched closest to what we paid for initially (wear, pet shield, weight, etc). The salesman left and about a week or two later, Jacob replied with the warranty replacement quote, around $1500 (I am not sure of the exact figure) out of our pocket to replace the carpet under the Empires written warranty!
I refused to pay out of pocket another $1500 to WARRANTY replace the faulty carpet I was already sold for $3000. A few more weeks of back and forth with Jacob, and he agreed to have the carpet replaced. But only if we signed a disclosure contract prohibitting us from "telling our experience" with Empire to anybody at anytime, and releasing Empire from any further obligations. Again, I refused to sign away any rights I may have, in order for Empire to comply with the original written contract warranty. After several weeks of back and forth emails, Jacob finally returned with a revised "Accomodation Agreement", I signed it.
Jacob scheduled the install of the replacement carpet. We took the installation day off from work, to be home for the installers, and paid to have the furniture removed. The day of the installation, a few hours prior to the appointment, we received a call that the carpet was never sent to the install crew. They informed us that they would need to reschedule again.
I called Jacob and informed him, he said he could ruin our weekend and set another appointment for Saturday or Sunday. I told him that was unacceptable and would just like to have Empire refund the money for the purchase. Jacob said he would need to contact corporate and get permission. This was in October of 2015. Jacob has never replied and has not returned any phone calls since. It is now April of 2016!
Back in May and July I hired Empire Today to install hardwood floors in my kitchen, breezeway and dining room. Weeks later I called them about the squeaking in the breezeway. The lady said give it a while to settle. I called a few weeks later about the gap in the wood and under door frames and.they sent one out to fix that (which there are still gaps). I called them recently about the squeaking which has gotten real bad all over the kitchen too. They sent someone out and he videoed and took pictures and said he would get back with me. A few days later the guy that called himself fixing the gap came back and checked the floor again. He said the kitchen and breezeway needed to be replaced, but he didn't have enough wood in the van to fix it. He said I will call you before I come back. Instead I got a call from someone name Saundra telling me it's not the wood its the floor underneath. We need to call a contractor or a subcontractor to go under the house to check the floor. He will probably have to jack up the house. Keep in mind the dining room is not like that. We are paying in the neighborhood of $7,000.00 for this flooring. That includes the carpet in the other rooms. The kitchen alone was $4,000 +. They just don't want to replace this floor. I need help with situation.
We purchased top of the line carpet about 2 years ago. It started rippling a few months ago and we called to complain about it. After numerous phone calls and several people coming out to inspect, stretch and tell us it cannot be fixed because it is crushed and needs replacing. We have very little traffic in our home and vacuum the carpets about every 3 days. The area that is rippling is not hardly ever used. We finally got word today after calling to find out what they were going to do about it, they told us that they will replace it for $1500.00. That is outrageous, unreasonable and out of the question. My mom and I live in the home and are not finacially able to fork out any more money nor should we have to. I honestly don't believe we got the quality of carpet that we chose or paid for. For the living and dining room (combined) and our den we paid $3000.00. It's not that big of an area in our mobile home.
We paid way less for previous carpeting that is 15 years old and looks better.
We were also promised that if we referred someone and they purchased carpet we would receive a gift card worth either 50 or 100 dollars and also the person who referred Empire to us. None of us has ever received any compensation. Not only that but our friends noticed some damage to a door and baseboard after the installers left. They never mentioned it either. Our friends called to let them know what had happened and they said they would send $25.00 to cover the cost. Not only was that extremely poor customer service but they never received the money.
We are just sick about this and hope that someone can help us to get what we deserve from these shysters. After reading many complaints about this business I see we are not the only ones to be ripped off. I am writing this mostly on behalf of my Mother, who paid for this on a monthly basis and who is a senior citizen on a fixed income. Thank you for providing this forum to ripped off consumers.
We have a luxury condo that tenants damaged and required a complete restoration. It is located 5 hours from our residence. Empire advertised on line that they serviced the area. We contacted them and they stated that the customer must be present for measuring and also for installation. They mentioned they were having a sale ending at the end of the month, and could install the carpet next day if material was in stock. We stated that we would have to both take two days off from work and drive 5 hours to make the appointment and have the carpet and laminate installed. We made an appointment approximately two weeks in advance. We reserved a motel room for the overnight and scheduled two days vacation for the both of us. Empire continously confirmed the appointment with reminder emails. We drove 5 hours to the unit on the day of the appointment. After arriving, and one hour before the meeting, we received a call from Empire stating that they did not have a dealer in the area. When I complained that we were greatly inconvenienced by their incompetence, both financiall and with time, they could only say "sorry". A call from the general manager was never received. We spend $15K with a local contractor to get the job done. I don't know why anyone would call or do business with Empire. With little research, anyone can see that the internet is loadd with similar complaints. Don't do business with this company. Their carelessness likely carrys over to their work. Buy local!
This company's business practices are not only deceptive but they have no regard to client satisfaction.
My situation started in July 2015 when I contacted the company to have carpeting removed from my stairs and hardwood treads and risers put in. They sent me an installer to come to my house and looked at the job and gave me an estimate. I thought the price was high and was more than I was willing to spend so I said no. A few days later another representative called me and offered me a discount. I agreed and the salesperson returned to my home to sign the contract and set up the installation. A few days later the installers arrive at my home with the wrong materials. They claimed the warehouse gave them the wrong size. I was told that they made a mistake and they would come back with a new appointment and bring the correct size. Well 3 weeks later they set another appointment and arrive back with yet the wrong size again. I asked how could they do this twice? The installers said that the company needs to special order the size and I spoke with the installation dept that asured me that this would take a few weeks being that it is a special order. So I waited a few weeks and then recieved an email with the date of installation. I waited all day and nobody arrived. I called customer service and after several transfers and escalations I was told by a manager that they can't do the job.
Well after wasting several months that was not ok. So the manager offered to carpet the stairs for free for all the wasted time and days I had to take off for this mess. I finally accepted. They sent another rep out to measure the stairs and had me pick the carpet. We set the date and yet again the day arrived and nobody showed up yet again. I called and was told they will email me for a new date and time. The new date and time arrived and I recieved a cofirming email of the date of installation and yet again nobody arrived. In fact the installers even called and told me they would be there at 4pm. I waited all day and had to take yet another day off and nobody showed. After calling customer service I was told the installers left for the day and they are not sure why they did not show up.
They wasted months of my time and had me lose 5 days of work due to their mess!
Save yourself the trouble and find another company to do business with.