Empire Today Reviews

The 5th came and went with no show or calls from anyone. I had to call Customer Service repeatedly only to be told finally that my installation had been rescheduled to 8/6, the day of the party!! Of course no one was available to talk to me and no one returned my messages including Juan. 8/6 the day of the party, again, no calls from anyone, no one showed, no one answered my messages, and no carpet. I had to send family members to go out and buy air mattresses and a pump, and set these up during the party!

Here we are on 8/7, still no one has called me, no carpet, and I have incurred additional... nothing but additional expenses and stress. Empire Today is a horrible company that doesn't provide any customer service, does not care about their customers, and flat out lies about what they will do. I strongly recommend going anywhere else and I will be pursuing legal action for reimbursement. Please for your sake stay away from Empire.

My second complaint is that I already have tiles in my laundry room area, and the Empire guys who put in the new tiles told me that they would do a mosaic to blend the two tiles together, but they did not. My third complaint is that when I removed my toilets to do tiles in the bathroom, the little covers that covered the screws were taken and now, I had to go buy them myself. So, all of those things gave me a very negative response to Empire.

My final complaint is that I had trouble with the rug delivery. They had trouble with the right sizing. It's like one person there doesn't talk to the other person. My sales person helped us to size the rug, and the people who called me had been specifically told what needed to be done, but they still ignored it. So, one guy brought out the rug, and they sent a rug out that was way too big. So, I had to take it back. Then, I had to wait yet another day for a rug delivery that took two tries to get the right size. But other than those things, the tile was beautiful and they did a great job as far as laying the tiles. The trim work was also pretty darn good. It is not as great as I expected but it's still good. I would still recommend Empire to a friend but I would encourage that friend to be very specific in what they are looking for. I also wish I had been able to be home more because, now, I’m out-of-pocket having to buy some stuff to fix things that Empire should be paying for.

The two young men that did the job worked really hard and did a great job. I was very pleased with the outcome. It turned out the way I wanted it to. There were a couple of spots that creaks, but that was even when I had the carpeting up there before I had the floor done. Empire took the rug off. However, they don’t do repairs. If I used a private contractor, they possibly may have driven in a couple of nails on the subfloor and that creaking may have stopped. Other than that, I haven't run across any problems.

It is 8/4/2016 and I am still waiting after four phone calls to the company and being told twice that the check was mailed on 6/14/2016 and again on 7/10/2016 and again on 7/18/2016. The first time I called, the gentleman I spoke to asked me why I cancelled and I told that the salesman told me I was purchasing a Mohawk carpet. The man said, "I don't know why he told you that because the carpet is made by Shaw". He then offered me a $600 reduction in price. I told him that No, just to process my refund and if I changed my mind, I would call him back.

I then researched to find out if the carpet was made by Shaw. It is not. I don't know what brand this carpet is and I would caution everyone not to do business with this company. Since then, I have read so many complaints about Empire, I can't believe they are still allowed to be in business. All I can say is that I am frustrated by not getting my refund but very grateful I did not continue with the installation of this carpet. They are liars and very untrustworthy.

They've installed the product well, all except for the aluminum transition pieces that transition from the carpets to the bathrooms, which weren't installed correctly. All of them came loose. These were cheap, but of low quality. Empire should offer some other higher quality transition pieces. The ones they put in melted down and I had to remove all these, and I'm in the process of installing other transition pieces right now. Also, the installer cut the carpet in the driveway and just left the carpet pieces everywhere and didn't clean up. I'm still picking up carpet pieces from my driveway, and it's thousands of pieces. Had I known that, I would've held them in the path and asked them to clean up.

Moreover, I spent $8,000 on this carpet and would've expected to receive a follow-up call a little later from the salesman for a list of questions and concerns about the product, but I never received a follow-up call from him after the installation. Although Empire has a quality product, I'm dissatisfied with the installation and the follow-up, and because of the issues that I raised, I wouldn't recommend them to anybody else. I would appreciate it if they reach out to me and ask me why I'm dissatisfied.

It's been over a week now and we are only 3/4 of the tile down. He called me this morning and told me he wants to finish the job but Empire Today has not paid him for three weeks work and actually stopped payment on a check they had cut him before. I have no idea what the job is he did before, but as far as the quality of his work, he has done a great job here – but I am not being held hostage as they have not paid him for work done.

I have reached out to customer service multiple times, escalated my calls to supervisors, etc. They have repeatedly given me monetary breaks on the quote, but I have yet to have anyone call me back. I am SOOO frustrated and over this whole process. I see that people who post reviews here at least get some sort of feedback from the company so hopefully they will at least pay the contractor they hired.

When you go to Home Depot, they purchase their carpet from their agents. That's why everything's all screwed up. On the other hand, the Empire guys were there and the work was quickly done, and I didn't have to go to another person. Furthermore, the durability and color of the carpet we got from Empire Today were nice. The carpet had better color than Home Depot's product and was as durable. It surely met what I was looking for, otherwise I wouldn't have let them put it on. You always have to make sure that you like what they put on.

We got a really good quality carpet because we got the 30-year stain-resistant one. They gave us an upgrade on the padding which was almost half an inch and a lifetime warranty on that. It was 15% less than I had budgeted based on my other estimates. I also like the stain-resistant feature of the carpet. It doesn’t let water or any liquid seep through to the padding. It pools on top and it's easy to clean. The carpet is certainly a lot nicer. On the whole, it all went pretty well. It was quick, convenient and the product was of quality.

Original Review: Aug. 1, 2016

We have been customers of Empire 7 or 8 years ago. When we purchased carpet to remodel our upstairs, we called Empire. Very happy with the salesperson and the product. Five days prior to installation, I received an email to confirm the date of install. I called Empire and confirmed that I would be here all day (they gave a window between 8 am-5 pm). Well today was supposed to be install day, yet it is now 3 pm and I just got off the phone only to find out that I will not be installed for another 10 days. They did not use my current phone number that I had provided, instead they used the number from 2007. Since they told me they would recycle the old carpet if I pulled it up, I had ripped up the old carpet in order to have it recycled. NOW we have bathrooms full of closet items, hundreds of feet of torn up carpet and pad in our floors, guests coming in this weekend to see our beautiful new sub-floors and 25-year-old carpet.

They claimed that the reason that it would take so long to reschedule is because they do not have enough installers. Well when you drop thousands of dollars on carpet and have to wait a month before it is installed, I'd say it is time for someone to get off their butt and hire more installers. We now have to decide if we want to take ANOTHER full day off of work in hopes that they will allow us to buy carpet from them. What a shame. This is ridiculous and bad practice. Their only response was a $300.00 credit for the 2 days that we are having to take off to wait for this product. Buyer beware... you could be enjoying nice new carpet or sitting in your house for 2 weeks looking at the remnants of sub-floors and old rolled up carpet and pad. I THINK WE WILL PASS!!!

Also, I suggest either Empire should cover furniture or they should let the customers know that there's gonna be a lot of dust, scratches and then spaces all over the place. We hired somebody because we want it done professionally but it was a mistake. I don't mind cleaning it the first time because it's expected. But the second time was because of them not doing a thorough job and that bothered me. I do not want to spend my whole summer cleaning. I would have done it myself. I’m not very happy. I would never have Empire install again. This is the last time I will do it. I’ll hire somebody else or do it ourselves. It would have taken a while but this is also taking a while.

Monday came and I called customer service to make sure the carpet installation was set. They said yes. I was confirmed and on the schedule. At 10:35 am I received a call saying they would have to reschedule for the second week in August due to no installers available. At that point, I had missed 3 days of work for nothing. I am done with them. If they do not have installers available, why make an appointment with the customer for installation? I cancelled the order and they did refund my down payment. I will never use Empire again. I ordered my carpet from Lowe's.

I am a satisfied customer. The quality and appearance of the carpet were great compared to other brands. It is very comfortable and durable. I am really pleased with it. The guys superbly went out of their way to be extra nice and extra courteous. They came and were in and out in two hours. I live in a really nice neighborhood and the people around are working people but they also can afford what they want. I can afford to pay $2,000 or $3,000 down for the carpet with my budget. They offered a payment plan with Wells Fargo, so that suited my budget. I was able to make payments on it and that helped out. I highly recommend Empire. I have suggested them to some of the working people in my neighborhood and they are looking forward to it. I'm recommending some carpet to my son as well and he's also thinking about getting some from Empire.

When they finished the install, I personally witnessed them move my pool table back BY HAND so the $400 was a complete scam! The installers also couldn't figure out how to correctly reseat the toilet in our main bathroom, so they LEFT IT ON THE BRAND NEW FLOORS! We had to call a private plumber and paid another $300 to have the toilet reseated, but according to that plumber "They could've done it themselves if they knew what they were doing..." so more wasted money out of pocket and frustrating inconvenience. After a day or two, we were noticing a popping sound coming from the floors when we walked across them, and because they're vinyl planks, this made them sound very cheap. This was due to the installers not properly polishing the concrete below the installed planks causing gaps. The planks also scratched very easily by our kid's toys and even a cardboard box. One plank even started to peel for no apparent reason.

We called customer service and set up an appointment to which our findings were confirmed and a service appointment set up for today for them to uninstall and reinstall the problem areas of our floor. That was supposed to happen today. It didn't. My wife took yet another day off from work to deal with this issue, was given a 9 am to 6 pm window which wasn't even kept. I was called today at 3:30 and notified they couldn't make it to our house until after 7 pm which isn't an option with 2 small kids at bedtime. We called our customer rep - no answer - no returned call, and I personally called the national customer service line and after waiting on hold for 15 minutes I gave up. Empire uses the sub-equivalent of day laborers to install their floors, unequipped, unprepared, untrained and speaking very little English.

We completely and totally REGRET using Empire Today and will be seeking a refund and are contemplating arbitration due to the physical and emotion stress this decision has put on our family. DO NOT fall for the song, the old man or the promises. This was one of the worst decisions we've ever made with our home and I'll never recommend or use Empire Today again. What a terrible waste of valuable time and hard earned money!!!

The only thing was that it's expensive to buy their wood than from other competitors. Prior to purchasing from them, I went to Home Depot who gave me a good price, that didn't match with Empire's price. The wood that Lowe's gave me was way cheaper also and has better quality. So I called back Empire that I don't want their flooring anymore because their price was crazy then suddenly they lowered their price which already matches Lowe's. I'm happy the price matched because that's a huge bit of money. The one from Lowe's is the best type of wood, more durable and thicker while the one I got from Empire is probably right under it a little bit. It's almost similar, but that's fine overall. Maybe in the long run, when I get my basement finished, I'll order back from Empire again.

So I tell the sales rep we can't continue with a purchase unless my husband approves. In return he pulls out a bunch of papers, fills them in with my name and address and the quoted price and asks me to sign. I sign the papers however I see that they say - Terms of purchase. I look at the sales rep and I tell him, "I am sorry but this document says I am right now putting an order with you guys and clearly I am not since I do not have the authority and my husband needs to agree to this purchase." The sales rep tells me not to worry about the papers because they are not exactly what I see written and since we haven't prepaid 10% of the order, there is no order. I say, "OK we will call you in an hour or so to tell you if we want to go ahead and purchase the installation and the wood."

A couple of hours later I call the sales rep leaving a voice message informing him I managed to speak with my husband and our decision is NOT to purchase the installation from Empire. Minutes later I receive a phone call from the sales rep and he apologizes for the mistake he has made but the actual price is actually not 13K, but 50% less so in total after tax we were given the price of a little over 7000. I told him I need to again discuss this price with my husband and we will give him a call. My husband came home late and we decided not to disturb the sales rep and instead call him first thing in the morning. At 8 o'clock on the following day I open my email and to my Biggest Surprise I see an email from Empire stating our wooden floor and installers are on their way and we should expect them.

Totally shocked and worried I call the customer service department, tell them my story and explain there was no order on the very first place and I am unsure why they would send installers! After they heard me saying we needed subflooring work done, they told me they can drop the price even further and give me the price of 5.5K as long as we hire another contractor to fix the concrete cracks. I told them this is not an option for us and that this situation is quite upsetting. The customer care rep blamed me for being "defensive and adamant" (!!!!!!!) and told me the order is cancelled as per my request. The exact moment he tells me my "order is cancelled" I receive a call. I pick up the phone (at 8.30 am) and the man on the line tells me - "We are from Empire Today and we are downstairs with your wooden floor to do the installation." I was like - "I am sorry but I have cancelled the order." So they leave.

Keeping in mind that the Empire document says you can cancel your order up to 3 business days, it is totally unbelievable that they would send an installation crew on an order which was not paid for, agreed, purchased, finalized etc. Needless to say, if you still decide to purchase from Empire, please, do not sign any papers and even if the sales rep is super pushy like our sales rep and changes the prices 3 times for you, do not feel obliged to finish the deal. Best wishes!

They came with the right product 2 weeks later and installed it. The color looked off from how we remembered it so we called the salesman to come by with his sample board. He showed up at 10 at night and asked him if it was possible to change the color. He said he had to check with his boss. 2 days later I called him because he couldn't bother to call me back and just said it was too late. These people do not follow up once they get your money. They don't care that you were promised something that THEY didn't deliver rather than delaying someone a few hours. They need lesson in customer service.

Despite misgivings, I called on Monday to attempt another quote, setting up the appointment for Wednesday, July 20, again from 11:00 to 1:00. At 10:45 I received a call from Empire cancelling the appointment since "no one had actually been scheduled to come to the house" when the appointment was made. Furious at the second consecutive missed appointment and another 4 hour round trip, I demanded to speak to a supervisor.

"Joe" came on the line and asked that I wait until he could speak to the managing staff at the Odenton Maryland office. He came back on the line and stated they promised to send someone out the same day between 3:00 and 5:00, and offering to take $100 off the price due to the missed appointments. I waited until 5:30 - no call, no show! During multiple periods of "hold" on the phone, I continued to hear of Empire's commitment to "world class customer service." Really? More like NO customer service! Based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend Empire Carpet to my worst enemy.

After speaking with a customer service representation from Empire Today, we consider this issue resolved. However, it does not change my opinion of the company and I doubt that time will "heal the wounds" so to speak. In reading other's reviews of Empire Today, they appear to be a strong, reputable company that generally does very good work. However, that was not what I experienced and I doubt that I would use them again.

Original Review: July 25, 2016

This was a disaster from the start. They had one month to get the carpet and on Saturday before the Monday scheduled install, they called and said that they did not have the carpet. Mind you this was to be a whole house install, so I had moved stuff from room to room to give them room to work. Three men showed up Tuesday to do the install. They also did my stairs, which are open on the right side. When you stood facing the steps, the carpet zigzagged down from top to bottom.

The carpet varied from 35" to 36" in width coming down the stairs. The worst was the install of my Family Room, which was 15" wide and about 20' long. They seamed the carpet and it was very visible. First the installer tried to tell me that you see the seam in this type of carpet, then he backed off of that excuse. He said I would have to talk to a customer service rep, which I did. They sent two more men out a few days later and they agreed that the stairs needed redone, as did the seam in my FR. I then talked to cust. serv. again and they said if they could get the same dye lot, they would just re-seam the FR.

The CSR called me back a little later and said she could get the same dye lot for my FR, so they would just re-seam it. I told them I did not want anymore screw ups and the CSR said she would handle this personally. I received a call at 7:15 am the day of the install and was told they did not have my carpet. They arrived the next day and performed all of the work to be done, but they had to do the entire FR over again because they could not get the same dye lot.

When they tore the carpet up, we found that they had covered my gas valve for the gas fireplace on the original install. They performed the work very well and I was satisfied. However, I have yet to receive a call from ANYONE at Empire Today asking if I was happy with the work. Not to get too lengthy, I will add that I caught the original installers bringing in BLUE Gatorade to drink while they were installing my carpet. They also gouged my foyer hardwood floor.

I explained ahead of time, the floor was to be refinished, so not worry about scuffs/scratches, but not to gouge my floor. I don't know when this happened, but they placed a box over top of the damage. As it turned out, the floor re-finishers were able to fix the damage. I also had to have the installers replace some of the metal strips they hammered down where the carpet met the hard surface kitchen floor. One was hammered down so much that it bulged out. At this point, I am not sure if my savings were worth the aggravation, but I know I would not use them again. Oh, I almost forgot the best part. While the salesman was at the house, he asked if we had anything for him to eat!!!

On 2nd day contractor brought new Spanish speaking guy. No English at all. Then things ended up missing. Antique Sad iron, push broom and antique railroad nails, approx 6. My mom just died and left me that Sad iron. That's what really put salt in my wound. Now I am very upset with the lying Empire says. These were illegals, I have one of their family's numbers to prove it they used my phone. This is cheap labor for them. Having a thief in my house and who knows maybe a rapist that is putting my safety at risk. That is wrong.

My original salesman had to come back out and I selected my product. It was rescheduled again due to an installer error but this time I didn't mind as much since I was hopeful this room would finally get done. Well it is now 7/23/2016 two months later and the room is still not done. There are gaps with the baseboards, half base boards pieced together and chips on some of the laminate in the closet.

This has been an absolutely horrible experience and a waste of my time that I have had to take off of work to get this one small bedroom completed. While Empire has given me $200 off of the product I still paid almost 1,000 for crappy service and installation. We are trying to make this a nice guest room for our in-laws and eventually sell the house. Empire's statement on their phone message says "we will increase the value of your house." Well at this point they have only increased my headaches and decreased my patience. I cannot believe a company like this stands by such horrible service. I truly hope something can be done.

So, as I know LVT can be expensive he gave me a price for "sign today" for the kitchen and bath. He said I could call and cancel if I changed my mind anytime before I actually called and placed the install date. So, I gave him a deposit of $200 to hold the price. Then comes the contract. It is a 14 page contract on an iPad. This is where you should READ. The contract actually states that if you change your mind you have 3 business days from the date of signing to cancel. Nowhere does it say you can just call and cancel. It actually states that you have to send a "telegram"... really? a telegram??? (This is 2016, not 1940) or by mail within 6 days. I opted to cancel and send an overnight UPS notice that cost me $28.00.

However, before that, I did call the customer service line and attempt to cancel by phone. I was given a cancellation number but I wanted a confirmation email. The first customer rep said I would get the email as soon as he hit the button. Later that day I checked my email and no confirmation. So I called back. They confirmed the cancellation was in the system but could not confirm it with an email because it was only a day after the order was placed and they didn't have all the information. Really? So they had the "order" but not all the information? So they said someone from the local area would call me back within 24 hours to confirm. Not trusting that, I decided to send the overnight.

Today I called back and wanted a confirmation email. I was transferred to a cancellation rep named Bill who was extremely rude and offered me a $250 rebate on the product if I kept the order. Since it wasn't really what I wanted to begin with and I thought the price was high I declined. However, if there was really a rebate on the product, why wasn't I offered that by the salesmen??? Then, I got a different cancellation number and I again asked for an email. He said I would not be getting one. Then, I attempted to ask another question and he abruptly hung up on me!!! I can't begin to imagine what kind of issue I would have if there was a problem with installation. NO WAY NO HOW would I do business with this company. There are no local numbers to contact anyone. Once they have you signed, you are done. I urge everyone to read the contract and be very cautious.

Personally, I am on the way to a local independent flooring store that got 14 out of 14 five star reviews. I would prefer to do business with someone I can walk into a store and talk to someone personally. Also, no matter what the salesman tells you be aware of this in the contract, it specifically states that "I am not relying on any oral or written modification or promises relative to the Notice of Right to Cancel." That means DO NOT RELY ON what they tell you. I am hoping I don't have a problem getting my $200 deposit back.

After filling complaint with BBB they called and again scheduled. Once again no one called and no one showed. Four months have passed by and I call twice a week to the private phone number given to me. No one answers so I leave a message and SURPRISE NO ONE CALLS BACK. MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO NEVER BUY FROM THIS COMPANY EVER. They don't care about anyone. It's all about getting your money.

When I received my paperwork in my email I noted that my promotion code had not been applied so I called the customer service line. The CSR confirmed that he could see the promotion code in the system and that he would have the installer apply it when I paid my balance on the day of installation. Friday came and by the middle of the morning I received a call that Empire was having a “problem with their installers” and they could not install my carpet that day. They said they could install on Saturday. I explained that I was moving on Saturday so furniture would be moved into the room, including my daughter’s crib. I was told I would be marked as a priority install and the installers would arrive at 8am so it would be done before the movers got there with the furniture. Saturday morning came and no carpet.

I received another call around 10 am from the same person, Shane, telling me that they were again having a problem with the installers and they could not install the carpet but would do it on Monday. This made me very upset as I would now have to move my daughter into her nursery, but not unpack her things and reassemble and then re-disassemble her crib to have the carpet done. I asked Shane what he would do to compensate for this as Monday would now be my 3rd Empire related vacation day. He said he would give me $75 off. I asked him to do more and he offered $100 off. He told me that I would be a priority install for Monday morning and acknowledged that he had told me the same thing the day before. He said he had 5 other priority installs that didn’t get done – this did not engender confidence.

However, on Monday morning the installers did arrive around 9 am. Unfortunately, they did not have the measurements for the correct room. They were very confused and kept looking around the house for what the mix-up could have been. They also didn’t know the carpet would need to connect to another carpet in the hallway and were confused by this. In addition, the installers did not speak English and I do not speak Spanish so we were fighting a language barrier. Lastly, they did not have either the $100 discount for the cancellations or my $200 promotion code applied to my order total. For the next 2.5 hours the two installers and I sat in my hallway on hold with Empire. We reached customer service on one occasion and I was told that the promotion code was already applied to my account. I explained that it wasn’t and I had spoken to a CSR earlier in the week about it so I knew the totals.

This new CSR insisted it was already applied to my account and then put me on hold. She came back from hold and now told me that I was “not promised that discount”, as if promotional codes are something you are “promised”. This change also indicates she was making up her first position that it was already applied. Unfortunately, at this point, the installer’s cell phone that we were using disconnected. We then called customer service back but were unable to get to them as they said they had 40 other callers in the queue. When we hit the 2.5 hour mark of waiting on hold, the installer's boss (someone else not at the Empire office) called to say they needed to leave. I said they could not as I had already been cancelled on twice which is what got us into this mess.

Another 30 minutes went by and he called again to demand they leave. At this point I had decided to cancel the entire order so said okay. We had to hang up the installer’s phone for them to leave. I called Empire back and waited for another 40 minutes to get to the cancellation department to cancel the order. The result of this for me has been 3 vacation days gone, over 3 hours on the phone, disassembling and reassembling my daughter’s crib which I will now need to do again in addition to repacking and unpacking her things, multiple blatant lies about installations and price, and still no carpet. I am truly shocked by what occurred. I thought this one room of carpet would be one of the easiest things I did and instead it was an absolute disaster on which I lost significant time and money and was treated terribly.

When I called to state that I'd like the refund in the form of a check - the same method it has been paid in. I was told that my cancellation wasn't in the system. I asked that it immediately be added and was told that I'd be issued a check in 10 days (double what the rep who came to my house had told me). I called back on 7/17 as no check had arrived and was told that it was in the system but that I'd need to speak with the local office. When I asked for the number - the rep told me that he only had extensions but would leave a message. I then texted the sales rep who came out to my house and asked 'where my refund was?' and received NO response back.

Today (7/20) I called the customer service number again and was told that the approved request wasn't received from the rep until 7/17 (shocking?!?!) and was told that the check would be issued 10-15 days from 7/17. It would seem given the duration that Empire Today should charge me interest for the amount of time that it's taking. Not only did they falsely sell me a product but now I can't even get a refund. NEVER AGAIN! I will also continue to tell everyone that I come in contact with that Empire Today is one of the most crooked companies out there and I'd rather pay double anywhere else than EVER do business with Empire again.

Second issue: the installation has been rescheduled multiple times. I had to reschedule it twice due to emergencies, but I was continually given the runaround and told that the installation "had" to occur on 2 days, it was 2 different crews (absolute lie, it's the same crew that installs both carpet and ceramics). I was then told installation couldn't occur for 2 weeks. I finally got it rescheduled for the 14th.

Third issue: last week the installers came out and discovered the carpet wasn't measured properly. After having my realtor sign the paperwork, they began work, and my realtor left. 45 minutes later I got a very rude call from Empire Today telling me that they are "refusing" to install the materials because my realtor refused to sign the paperwork and left. I explained that she had signed, and that the salesperson had assured me that it was fine for her to leave and do work during installation. I was told they would not install, and that I had to figure something out.

I reconfirmed the signature with my realtor and she drove back to the house, and before I could actually get someone from ET, the installers had left the property. I spent over 3 hours on the phone trying to figure it all out. Finally connected the dots. They had not measured proper and tried to cover up the mistake by blaming the lack of installation on my realtor. I was told "Well, they would have to come out a different day anyway because the carpet wasn't the right size." We finally got both rescheduled for July 19.

Fourth issue: today (July 19) I called to find out the ETA so my realtor could plan her day. I was told that I should just wait because that is easier. I explained that I need to relay the info. After pushing, the individual finally told me it was the 2nd stop (I was assured we would be first after the mess up last week) and it would be between 11 and 1 for both products. 10 minutes later I received an email telling me the ceramics would be installed tomorrow, then received a call saying the install for today was scheduled. I asked to speak with a manager. I spoke with Lisa. I explained what was going on and that it had to be installed today. Lisa was very rude. She clearly did not care about the issue, and told me that I just had to wait until tomorrow.

I explained that this was incredibly frustrating, I have emails that the ceramics install would happen today, and that every day this was not completed was costing us money. She told me that I would just have to wait until tomorrow. Her rudeness was infuriating. My husband then called and Lisa was rude to him as well, and no resolution has been reached.

This company has acted with complete disregard for their customers, and I have already discouraged 4 friends (business owners) from using this company due to the lack of respect and poor customer service. I have worked with many companies, and I have never experienced a company with such terrible customer service. None of the call receivers know what is going on, or are able to answer questions. Lisa (a manager) was incredibly rude, and clearly does not care about customer service. This company has horrible communication systems within the company, and has clearly become too large for the service systems they have in place.

Original Review: July 19, 2016

We first hired Empire Today to install our porcelain wood-look tile a month ago. Our experience with the sales person was fine, though he did quote us a price that was incredibly high, especially when we compared the price to other quotes. He convinced us that Empire Today (unlike other home improvement stores that provide installation) "knows how to install floors because that is all [they] do." After negotiating the price done drastically, we went with Empire Today.

The first install was a catastrophe. A one-day install took a week. When we did our first walk-through with the installation team, we noticed right away one tile that was moving when we walked on it. Rather than fixing the problem then, the installers moved a chair to try to "weigh down" the tile and help it "stick." Of course, the thin set had already dried and the tile would not adhere to the subfloor, but the installation crew simply told us to call to schedule them to return the next week to fix the problem. Immediately after the installation, the grout began cracking/coming out and many of the tiles were loose and "crackling" when we would walk on them. The floor was uneven with tile lippage (some tiles higher than others) throughout.

We immediately called Empire Today and they sent us a new team a week later (after the holiday break) to re-install the entire floor (living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom). This team noted that the subfloor installed by the previous installation team was the problem. Empire Today uses a Ditra-like installation product which did not work for our floors (or the first installation team did not know how to correctly use the product). This new team received special permission to use cement backer board instead.

The team completed the work in four days - again, much longer than the initial promise of a one-day install. While the tiles are secure with this install, there is still lippage throughout. We had the team come back to tackle some of the most extreme lippage and to replace some of the tiles that were chipped, but the end result is better in some areas and worse in others. At this point we have no faith the problem can be fixed and are concerned that any more attempts to "fix" the problem will simply make the tiles even more uneven.

The other issue is the baseboards. Unfortunately, Empire Today uses a cheaper baseboard product: MDF baseboards. These baseboards, unlike traditional pine baseboards (which other companies had quoted us for and which we had assumed would be used by Empire Today as well), have a tendency to swell with humidity/water. We had chosen a tile floor (over a wood floor) because we didn't want to be concerned about water damage, but now the problem remains as we worry about water getting to the baseboards.

We've had the baseboards replaced after the second installation (where the baseboards edges did not meet up), but we still had not realized that many of the problems associated with the edges was related to the product itself as it is prone to "open up" at corners. Now the baseboards are peeling/opening up at many of the corners again. For an installation in which there are multiple corners and in a state where humidity is definitely a constant during the summer, this rather sensitive material does not hold up at all.

After a month of dealing with weekly visits from the installation teams to try to remedy all of these issues, missing work, and still coming up with an unsatisfactory outcome, we are incredibly disappointed with our experience. We definitely wish we had gone with another company! After discussing our problems multiple times (via email and phone calls) with the sales person, we were told we would get a phone call from someone who would handle our continued complaints and discuss remedies for the missed work and continued problems with the product. We're still waiting.

After complaining for a month, we received a call stating that a third party inspector would call us (sound familiar?) within 1 - 3 days. It's been a week and we haven't heard a word. We paid a lot of money for this flooring and they need to make it right. Until then, everyone I know will hear about their lack of service and inability to make a purchase right.

On top of these problems as my family began to live and move in the house the floors began to separate and expose the sub floor through large gaps. I called Empire and they sent a manager to check out my claim and he then scheduled for a team to come in and do repairs. They caulked the quarter round as it should be but they did everything they could to get around pulling up any flooring including filing the gap with some sort of vinyl filler but once dried it actually caused the gaps to expand more. The difference in floor levels was also not addressed. So I attempted to contact the same manager who had come to my home only to find out he no longer worked for the company. So I was passed along to a new manager and he scheduled an inspection from an outside company. All of this, as much as I wish it had happened within days took a year.

It wasn't until February of 2016 that I had the inspection. The inspector told me that companies usually take longer getting back to you after the inspection so I gave them two months before I reached out again. This is when everything went extremely down hill. I was told this other manager also was no long with the company so I got passed to another. She seemed like she had my best interest at heart and really cared about my issue. She said she had the inspection report and that I needed a whole new install. I was asked did I want to choose a new floor or keep my original and I chose to keep. She said she personally ordered the flooring and scheduled my installation.

When the day came, June 6, 2016, no one ever showed up. I attempted to call empire the entire day and was unsuccessful even leaving voicemails that were never returned. The next day I spoke to the manager who assured me this was just a mistake and gave me a new install date of June 13, 2016. No one showed. After this second failed attempt I was never able to get in contact with the manager again. So I called the national customer service line and spoke with a customer service manager who filed a report on my behalf. Shortly after I was contacted by a corporate manager who left me a voicemail at the time. When I returned her call I was met by a full mailbox and was not able to reach her after 2 weeks until she called me again. This manager informed me that my flooring was out of stock. When I was told it had already been ordered. I had to do a reselect. Then she gave me an installation date of July 18-19, 2016.

But then a week after I get this new install date I get a call from a customer service rep asking me to do a reselect and schedule an install date. If I had already did that why would I need to do it again? They should be on the same page. Something isn't working out here. If I am stood up again by Empire I don't see any other solution but to seek a refund.

All so that Empire can arrive on 7/15 to get the carpets in as agreed. Around 9:30 Friday 7/15 I am wondering why I have not heard from Empire. Surely I would have heard from them by now. So I call Empire. Imagine my surprise when the young lady says that I dont have an appointment scheduled for today 7/15. I informed her "surely I did. I made an agreement with the sales guy on 7/11 and he told me I would get a call today about the timing of the install for today." She proceeds to tell me that Empire called me yesterday and I hung up on them when they advised it was Empire calling.

So instead of Empire calling back (because I assure you I didnt get a call from them so I am sure they called the wrong #) they decided to cancel my appointment altogether. HMMM. Lets stop and think about this for a moment. Empire has an appointment, they call to confirm that appointment, they get a disconnected call and so instead of calling back/sending an email (which they have my address because I have an email document from them earlier in the week) they decide to cancel the appointment altogether without any notification to their customer. HMMM. Could you have dialed a wrong # Empire considering the steps 1 through 5 that I took above to make sure things went well for my install?

So here I am on this call with this poor representative hearing my wrath about my house being torn apart, taking off of work, expenses associated with kenneling and now what looks like hotel stays because I have no place to sleep. So I tell her there must be something Empire can do. This is ridiculous. Not a customer error, Empire's error. She says there are no installs for today or this weekend that she can fit me in on.

So now I am going to have to go at least the weekend without the ability to sleep in my home and also find something to do with my dogs for the weekend and my kids. GREAT Empire. Thank you for your help. So I tell her I need to speak to a manager. She connects me with Chris the head of customer service in the Philadelphia department. He proceeds to tell me "there is nothing that can be done." I tell him "thats not right" and explain my steps 1-5 and not only 1-5 but not be able to get carpet installed I have no place to sleep and now have to pay for a hotel until it gets in.

Top all of this off, I am 7 months pregnant, so to move all of that crap and uproot my family it is taking its toll. To which he replies "I am sorry. The sales rep should never have told you that." Ok. You are sorry Chris? Sorry that I have to move my kids out of their home to make way for you and your company to mess up and give me what is hands down the worst customer service I have ever experienced in general? Thank you for your kind understanding Chris. So lets see what does Chris actually do for me? Well after several minutes of my trying to help your head of customer service in Philadelphia understand my situation, he decided to check to see if there is room on the schedule for tomorrow. Ok 1st Chris that would have been your best bet to start with.

Then he tells me he can fit me in Saturday afternoon between 12-3. Someone would call me. Ok so I ask "how long will this install take". He says "8 hours". So let me get this straight. Someone may show up from 12-3 to start an 8 hour job at my house. So the earliest they could be done is 8 PM or close to midnight? That is my option? Not get an install at all and try to live in shambles or get an install all day Saturday that could go to midnight? Yes because we all love to have work done on our homes until midnight on Saturdays. Thank you head of customer service. I will take your Saturday appointment because your company is too incompetent to give me the original appointment of today that we agreed upon.

Then he has the audacity to ask me if I would like to cancel. Yes Chris. Please cancel my carpet install when my house is a ** wreck. I have no place to sleep and my dogs are in the kennel. Please cancel my install so I can now wait 2-3 weeks for someone else to come out and put carpets in. Really Chris? You are the head of customer service and you dont seem to realize that everything I just told you about my current living predicament couldnt wait 2-3 weeks? I am in customer service, have been for >15 years and I can assure the companies I have worked for would have done a lot more than made an excuse and said "I am sorry" considering my predicament. They would have reimbursed me for kenneling, or maybe offered to pay for a hotel room, or even offered a discount on the already purchased carpet for the install. Instead asked if would like to cancel.

Maybe Empire should consider a new head of customer service in Philadelphia because frankly Chris sucks. So as you can see Empire I am very frustrated with you and your lack of service and I havent even had the carpets installed. If I could get someone else to get it done in 24 hours I would. I hope your installers have better customer service than your head of customer service does.

I scheduled ANOTHER day of work to fix the first and requested someone that spoke at least a little English. Much to my frustration the same guy showed up (only 1 this time). I went back and forth with the installation manager and the Empire sales guy all day. I was promised a call from the regional manager WHICH NEVER HAPPENED. They didn't replace the bathroom or closet doors and left without finishing trim. I WILL NEVER USE EMPIRE TODAY AGAIN... BEWARE!

Original Review: July 13, 2016

Salesman started by showing non-sale floors. Said we didn't have to pay until job complete and we were satisfied (not true). Engineered hardwood installed awfully. Floor buckled all over. Cheap materials... the saddles separating rooms was replaced by them with some cheap piece of plastic.

So here we are going on 3 weeks and the best Empire of Mebane, NC can do is send a installer out in another week because he will repair their damage. I may not have paid 1000's but do want this garbage installed again new or my money back... Will be writing to Chamber of Commerce next. Oh and all this while have no family room or for that matter first floor since contents of family room is everywhere.

Now after a few days and already going through my other set ups - Empire calls and tries to get me to reschedule. I told them my fears and they offered $250 off my total price and still get the half off sale. So I thought, what could it hurt? Sales person time frame was from 8-11; I got a call around 10 that he would be there in 30 mins... it was actually 45 mins later (no big deal, I am painting the house anyway, but don't like being lead on with time). We moved through the motions and he kept showing me these awesome deals he was giving me (which if were all the same price the other smaller companies were quoting me and how Empire got the original $13,000 quote where others were around $6000 for the same brand product name, I will never know).

That's part of their game I guess... give a huge quote and then show how they magically are making it cheaper; SCAM! But the sales person was nice and matched one of the competitors. But then when I brought up the $250 off with the half off sale - he said I couldn't do it because I was getting such a better deal. Now that doesn't sound right to me, but ok. Then expressed my concerns with all the reviews which he says just as many bad reviews as there are good reviews, but people express more when upset (I work retail, totally understand that).

We went with Empire because of the time constraint with our move. He then told me I should get a call later that day and if I missed it be sure to call them back, which they did (didn't leave a message at all) and I called back. Upon calling back, they didn't know what was going on with my account because supposedly the sales person didn't finalize everything and I was NOT even set for the next day installation. Texted sales person and he got everything all fixed, and of course doesn't understand what they were talking about. (Starting to see the lack of communication yet).

Now while I was on the phone with the customer service lady I kept asking for a time they were to be expected; she would not give me one but told me that their policy was to give out the work orders that day and we would get a call from the installers. I expressed my concern with that because we live over an hour away and that they couldn't just call us up and say they were going to be there in 20 mins (physically impossible). She said she would notate to call an hour ahead and that the installers would not leave without calling us. Had no choice to accept this way and said ok.

Next day, we get the call and she said installers would be there in an hour. My husband gets up and leaves the house (mind you we had no clue what time they would call because they only tell you sometime between 8-10:30 am will they call). He gets to the house and the installers had already left (neighbor said 5 mins before he arrived). No phone call to either of our phones; no note, no nothing. So takes me 20 mins to get someone on the phone to tell me that they will reach out to installers and find out what happened and for us to wait!!! REALLY, wait for when??? Can't get in touch with installers, they won't answer the phone and only leave messages.

So then this KID on the phone tells me we have to reschedule. So now we have lost more than a half a day and gas to drive over an hour back and forth, plus now to reschedule. Asked for a supervisor, took another 10 mins for that. She gets on the phone (mind you this is the same person that I talked to previously, Jasmine, who I told her my situation with the time frames and assured me that they would note it down and she would call back to ensure all is taken care of), which she did call back the next morning right after the installers called and wanted to give us $100 off for the bad reviews and my concerns - and wanted to be sure they called. Great, wonderful... until my husband arrived at the house.

So now she is trying to contact installers with no luck and says all we can do is reschedule for Monday. Now I have to take off from work (loss of money), drive another hour back and forth, and pay someone to watch my kids (more money out) all because everything that I said I was concerned about happened and everything Jasmine promised me didn't happen. Once I bring up their poor communication and service they all want to argue with me... I told them I was done wrong here. She also told me that there was nothing in my details on the work order that said anything about calling in or the house is not lived in (even though I told EVERYONE I talked to about it and was assured it would be noted).

So then all she says she can do to compensate my time and money out is $50 a day and no more (but she just gave $100 off to me just because of bad reviews!!! HMMMMMMM). I asked for her to push it up to a customer service supervisor and I wanted someone to call me back, this is not right that I am put out and everything they promised didn't happen. So then again, I am assured all this will be noted in my account. Monday morning comes around and I am already planning on leaving earlier than they called last time... As I am getting ready at 7:40 am I get a call saying they will be there by 8 am-10:30 am sometime. So guess who is upset now!!!

I told him there if they showed up before 9 am it was physically impossible to be there and they were suppose to call with at least an hour ahead. He then acts like no clue and then actually tells me it is in the notes and he just didn't read the details this morning when he came in and his job is just to go through all orders for the day and make courtesy calls!!! REALLY! He was nice enough to contact the installers about the situation and set up a time that I will be there. But I told him I want someone to call me back for all this inconvenience and stress they are putting me through because putting the floors off also made me have to reschedule movers, trucks and so much more. I had also the night before got on their website and requested a call back from customer service.

The first day on the job, this set of installers are really nice, professional and answered all my questions. He even told me that the installers before still had my material and Empire had to call them and say I canceled the order in order for them to bring it back!!! He also informed me about all the notes in the work order and that is why he called me personally. So as they are doing the first day on the job, I never hear back from anyone from customer service and actually get an email back from them that the issue appeared to be taken care of and so no one will be reaching out to me. NO IT HASN'T!

I call again (which takes anywhere from 20-60 mins to get anything on the phone!! So then she re-puts in my request and make it a priority for a call back). So now I wait at the house being worked on for day 2 for them to respond. I don't normally do reviews, but this experience has been ridiculous and just stressful!!! So now this is day 4 of waiting for them to fix this concern! Everything that I was concerned about happening and happened. Now I will wait on quality of work to be messed up too!

I asked the salesman to leave and he gave me a deer in the headlight stare. I finally closed up his iPad and told him, "We're done here. You don't have what we want." He gave me another deer in the headlight stare and I had to tell him, "Get out of my house. We're done here. Life is too short to look at a bunch of junk we don't want." We helped him get his samples out of our house and to his vehicle. If we want a cheap floor that we don't care about quality, we might call Empire again.

Today rolls around, second set of installers arrive, WITH THE SAME USELESS ROLL OF CARPET ON THE TRUCK. I actually cried. I really needed the carpet installed today as I was leaving town for two weeks and need to have it installed before my daughter's graduation. After contacting my rep (Michelle, who is great), and customer service at least 4 times without a callback and holding for at least 30 minutes each time, tweeting, and emailing, finally got in touch with someone who said it was not going to be possible to install my carpet today. So, 4 hours wasted just to get that answer. If this carpet was not so important to me that it be installed before my daughter's graduation party, I would have cancelled in a heartbeat. But, being out of town, I won't have the opportunity to contact another company to have it installed in time. So, I will be cutting my vacation short just to come back and have this carpet installed.

I am beyond frustrated and really feel like Empire dropped the ball on this one. How in the world do you get the wrong amount of carpet in the first place but then do it twice? Also, I RARELY complain about companies, I am pretty patient about things but as a business owner, this is just wrong and Empire should have made this right. TODAY. My rep said she will try and get me compensation for time wasted waiting around here and for time lost for vacation. We'll see. I appreciate the venue to vent. I was really looking forward to a good experience with Empire... the company came highly recommended. Will follow up after installation. Let's pray that everything looks good when they are done. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to move everything back into my living room and office. ARGH.

Call the sales guy Al ** on Monday and he knows nothing about this. He checks with the installation department and they can't install the vinyl for at least 3 more days. I tell him to cancel and have the vinyl removed from my home. He says fine. Now two weeks later the vinyl is still sitting outside on my patio and my credit card has not been credited. I have wasted hours on this deal and have nothing. I will never use Empire again and suggest everyone else does the same. Do your best to use a local reliable company. This has been a really frustrating, time wasting experience.

Issue arises that they are only to install indoor carpet, not outdoor, but the bill was for both. I didn't feel like paying for something that wasn't going to be installed that day, so with a lot of back and forth, a number was found for just the indoor carpet, which I paid. The installers worked quickly and efficiently, and were very polite. The installation of the carpet was outstanding in my opinion. Issue arises when the installer's vacuum broke and couldn't vacuum the carpets after installation leaving a lot of fibers around. They asked and I said "that's ok", what could they do? So not vacuuming the carpets, leaving a door off hinges and two bags of carpet scraps are my only gripes about the installation of the inside carpet. But what about the outdoor carpet!?! I just called today 7/7/2016 and someone is supposed to get back to me about it. This is almost 2 months from my initial order.

They scheduled the inspection for two weeks from that day. I scheduled to have my carpets cleaned prior to that date. A week later I received a follow-up call reminding me of the $125 fee for the inspection. When I question it and asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold and they came back and recanted the fee. I requested to still speak to a manager and was told one would call me back. That call never came. I was however contacted again by the CSR to tell me she was wrong a week ago and can't actually schedule someone to do an inspection. So as it stands, it's been two weeks since my initial call, I have no inspection scheduled, no clue if an inspection, if it happens, will cost me anything. No call from a manager, and crappy carpet in my living room.

After the second missed sales appointment, they sent an arrogant and fast talking Sales Person, whom I had to be patient with as he was rushing the sale and trying to offer the worst products they had as though they were better. I managed to keep my calm and order what "I wanted". They also offered a "discount" to convince me to stay on as a result of the two missed sales appointment. Well, came the first missed installation appointment and their Retention Department became involved because I offered to cancel at that point.

Once again, the Retention personnel offered another "discount", only to miss the second installation appointment. In the time being my house was in disarray for a while awaiting the installation, as I had to move things in the rooms to accommodate the installation. I started dealing with the company in enough time to allow me to have the installation done before expected company at my house. On the second missed installation date, their Retention Department person with whom I was communication, avoided my phone calls, as she had convinced me that she would ensure the installation was FINALLY going to take place.

As expected by now, they offered another discount and another installation date. Of course I was so appalled at this point, I told them to cancel my service and that they would never get my business. I also informed them that I was going to write their Corporate office and place bad reviews online. After all, I gave them four attempts to come through and they obviously displayed the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

In the meantime, I had to put my house back in order for my company to come, and schedule an installation with another company, so I would have to move things AGAIN at another time. I cannot believe this was an isolated incident; as it appears that they either hike the price of the carpet and offer discounts for the bad service or provide cheaper carpet than the customer paid for; the reason why they kept offering discounts. Mind you I NEVER got a call from a Manager and every time I called, the wait time was very time consuming. I obviously would discourage anyone from using Empire!!!

We started with simply wanting to get rid of our off-white carpeting that was literally an embarrassment, due to it being so hard to keep clean. We first looked at one of the "Big Box" home improvement stores, thinking we might save some money if we did it ourselves. Well, the "Big Box" store was too busy to even call us back to set up an appointment, plus the price they quoted, $2000, required us to do all the pre-prep and tear out all the old carpet and linoleum, which was 16 years old. My wife and I are both busy professionals, and did not have 2 months to spend our weekends tearing our house up, plus figuring out a way to haul all the stuff away. Now, the "Big Box" product was a pre-laminate hardwood that had sticky stuff and foam on the bottom.

Let's take a look now at Empire. Sales: The Sales Representative who came to our home, David **, on a day and time that was convenient for us, was extremely friendly and took however long we needed to view a variety of hardwoods in both quality and price. Thank you again David! Pricing: You will not find a better deal on product and installation than you will get from Empire. Trust me, we looked around. Also, they offer great financing plans and we will have our floors paid for at exactly what they cost in about 10 month with no interest!

Installation: their crews are extremely professional and efficient. They arrived at our home at 11am and had completed our living room, dining room, and kitchen by 6pm! All the old stuff gone and all the furniture and appliances back in place and the new floors cleaned. The installers even went so far as to suggest modifications that would make our finished product more attractive and better installed, and performed them at no extra cost. We also had some very complex cuts that needed to be performed in certain areas, but for this team, it was no problem. The finished product is flawless.

Customer Service: again, Empire Today is exceptional. When I would call them, they would already have my account pulled up on their screen, and were extremely professional, friendly, and helpful at all times. Empire Today wants your business, and they will do everything possible to get it within reason. You want the bottomline don't you? Here is the bottom line: I have a floor in my home that should've cost about $10,000 for less than $4,000! And it was all done in 7 hours, the financing was exactly as promised, and my wife and I could not be more ecstatic and satisfied.

Would I recommend Empire Today to a friend? I would recommend Empire Today to anyone thinking of new flooring in their home! For an investment of under $4,000, I have increased the value of my home by 15-20K! And, we got rid of the embarrassing carpets that we literally covered with area rugs, and the disgusting old linoleum that required scrubbing on your hands and knees every 2 weeks. Thank you Empire Today, for the exceptional service, quality product, installation, and price. My wife and I could not have made our dream of hardwood floors in our home come true without you. Before you buy or hire anyone else, contact Empire Today! If you don't you will regret it because you will pay too much, get a less quality product and may have your home in shambles for who knows how long.

It was a dark, cloudy day with off and on flurries. It was quite cold. The carpet we chose was blue/grey. The installers went quickly removing the old carpet, making sure any old tack strips were out sweeping and using a shop vac. for any debris left behind. The work was done in about three hours and later that evening, I left to get my wife from work. Upon arrival home, my wife and I put on the lights attached to the fan and we noted a gigantic seam right down the middle of the room. It looked awful, to say the least. I called Empire Today the next day and we got an apologetic person who was going to send a crew out ASAP to fix the seam. Four days later, the new crew came by. We then again had to move furniture but not the whole room. Four hours of repairs done, the seam was still there but much less notable than before.

Jump ahead three weeks and we noted the carpet in the area where the floor transitions into our dining room, laminate floor also put in by Empire. One technician came by and he noted that the crew that fixed the seam, tucked the rug under and stapled it in place causing it to fray. The staples could have gone into someone's foot. The only solution the lone technician had was to put a brass transition strip over the staples and the frayed rug. June 29th my wife asked to look at the carpet where it transitioned into cabinets at a small "bar" setup. The carpet there was fraying also. And under the windows, the carpet was coming apart and fraying from the baseboard. I got down on my hands and knees and noted the carpet there was also stapled in place and it was simply not tucked well under the baseboard.

Well, when the salesman arrived to write up the quote I was told that they are independent contractors and that their manager advised them that they would not make any commission off of the deal if they honored the quoted price they had in writing of $3067. The sales representative showed me that everything would cost $3999, however her manager would not allow her to give me this price because again they were independent contractors. Needless to say I finally got in touch with the manager and the price went up to $5,239 for the same project. When I questioned his price he told me that he is the manager, he makes the decisions and I should take my business elsewhere! He was so disrespectful from his tone to the words he was saying, his sales representative apologized to me and was in tears. I am contacting all of my friends and family advising them to never do business with Empire carpets again!

I sent him packing but he came back with something slightly better but not nearly what we had and put it in. The person from Empire who sold us the carpeting from this area in Detroit, Lawrence, met with the snake oil carpeting salesman on his own time then came back and resold us the carpeting we wanted. He could not have been kinder, nicer, and more considerate. I can't say enough good things about Lawrence. He was spectacular.

He pulled in and came into the house with a clipboard and paper with 3 carpet samples for us to verify the carpet for each room. Then he pulled out a tape measure and flipping it around asked to see the rooms to be installed, and he quickly made two measurements in each room. We went to the basement, where we had been flooded, and I told him we had just repainted the rooms that were to be carpeted, please be careful not to mess up the walls. He said, "I cannot guarantee that. At least 90% of people who have carpet installed need touch up. See how rough the back of the carpet is." He handed the sample to me. "That rough side scratches the walls." He walked over to my newly painted wall and said, "Watch how easily it scratches", and he used his THUMBNAIL TO SCRATCH MY WALL. Then he says, "It scratches very easy", AND DOES IT AGAIN! My husband and I are SPEECHLESS.

Then he said we would be paying $2900.00 for the carpet. We said no, we had applied for the zero percent financing and been approved, as we had received the credit card. He said he had no record of that, we would have to pay. We said we were not prepared to pay that, we had the financing. So he went to the truck and called the bank. And was on hold for 45 minutes. Then he came in and said we were approved, but not for the carpet. My husband says, "The Empire card is not good for Empire carpet?" He says no, we are approved but not for the carpet, we would have to pay for the carpet.

By this time I am questioning the reliability of this company and the quality of work this man would do. For one thing, he didn't speak much English, for another, HE SCRATCHED MY NEWLY PAINTED WALLS!! So I said, just cancel the whole deal. He said, "I have been up since 5:30 and now I have no work?" We said we've been up since 6 waiting for you and now we do not want this carpet, and our whole house is in the garage, and now it will be in the garage longer! This company should have had all the financing figured out before he came! Then they told us it was the salesman's fault, he didn't do the approval process right, they would send him back out in a week to re-write the deal and start over. We were like, I don't think so! We are not waiting another 3-4 weeks for carpet!

When I called to cancel the deal, they kept saying, "Let us work this out for you. How about if we give you $500 off?" I said, "No, you owe me my deposit back". They said, "We will send you your deposit plus give you $500 off!" I said no. He said $750 off! I said "No, I want my deposit back and no carpet from you". He said, "$1000 off and your deposit back! We will get the salesman back out there in a week!" I said "No, send me my money back and cancel the install". I was very disappointed, and everything is still in my garage while we search for new carpet. I wish I had read the reviews before signing up with them to do my carpet. Word of mouth is your WORST or BEST advertisement - in this case, my word of mouth is your WORST advertisement.

Original Review: June 29, 2016

I had my entire house done with Empire today. The sales rep was very nice. The wood guys downstairs were awesome. The carpet people on the other hand didn't call before they came, showed up late, and when they did show up, they did with a half crew, so it took twice as long as predicted. After the install I had a problem with an area that I had specifically asked them about. The previous people that owned the house had cats. I asked the sales Rep if I should treat it prior to them coming. He told me no that the carpet guys would deal with it when the time comes. If it needs anything they would let me know. Well they didn't. The base boards were so swollen that to get rid of some of the smell we replaced them. So now there is a gap between the carpet and the new non-smelling base board.

I called the company to get a piece of carpet to fix it (the guys didn't leave any). The people at the office were not helpful at all. They didn't try to resolve my issue. They would not give me a tiny sample of carpet to fix the hole that was left by their mistake. I will never use Empire again. It is a shame that problem resolution is such an absent skill in a customer service company.

The total amount of the job came to $5600.00, so we gave Empire a check for $3000.00 and were going to finance the remaining $2600.00. The sales representative called in our check information to someone while sitting at house. The next day when we checked our bank account and Empire ran the entire amount of $5600.00 through and drained our bank account. At that point, we put a stop payment on the check. When we called Empire we were told someone from Accounting would call us back.

The next day (Friday) nobody from Empire had called us back, so we called their 800 number and demanded to speak to someone to get this resolved. It wasn't until late Friday afternoon until the funds were showing pending in our account. Not sure if the funds were showing because we put a stop payment on the bank or if Empire Today did something. Not really sure, since nobody really was able to help us. Not to mention, we had plans to go away for the weekend, but since we had no money in our account, we had to cancel.

The day of the installation, we got a call from a collection agency regarding the $5600.00 we owe Empire. So we had to explain the entire situation to them and why. Needless to say, we are battling this in hopes it does not hit our credit report. This is still not 100% resolved as of 6/29/2016. Midway during the installation process, the carpet installers inform us they do not have enough carpet for the office and 3 closets, and that those rooms were not on their layout of the house. They showed us the layout of the house and sure enough, it was not complete. We reached out to our representative and her boss Nick to let them of the situation and were told there were 2 pages and 1 of the pages must not have gone through. Well at this point, you can't believe a word they say. All I can say is, thankfully more carpet was delivered that afternoon.

This has been by far the worst experience ever dealing with a company!! The entire time we had been in contact with our sales rep and her boss, Nick. Her boss Nick said, "When everything is settled, give me a call," and he would see what he could do for us. We have left Nick 2 voicemails and he has yet to return our call. We have even reached out to the 800 number and the girl we spoke to, Jasmine, was extremely rude and unapologetic. It is almost like Nick was saying what he needed to say to keep the sale, but when it was all said and done, he was done as well!!

When I called and spoke with a representative, she stated that the installer should be at my home around noon. I called Empire back around 1:00pm to inform them that the installer has not shown up. The representative placed me on a brief hold to call the installer. When the representative came back on the line, she informed me that the installer should be at my home around 4:00pm; I informed her that I was very displeased with the back and forth with the installer; she stated that they have an open window from 8-6pm. Around 6pm when no word from Empire or the installer, I called back to speak with a manager from Empire. While waiting to speak to the manager, the installer called to say he would be at my home by 7:30pm (he did not arrive until 8:00pm) and that it would take him until 10 at night to finish my basement bathroom and kitchen.

When I finally spoke to the manager, I let her know that I was very dissatisfied with the lack of communication between Empire and the installer. Within the first few minutes of me explaining what has taken place, she insisted that Empire has a window from 8-6 to install. Finally, the installer arrives to my home. The installer came and walked the areas that I needed the LVT and ceramic tile to be installed. He told me that the representative did not measure properly and that my kitchen floor will have holes in the floor due to my kitchen cabinets. The installer then proceeded to look at my basement flooring and notified me that he would be unable to do the LVT because a tile was wet and the glue would not stick. The installer insisted that I had a leak. When the installer left, I called Empire back and spoke with someone and let them know what was said from the installer.

I informed them that when the representative measured the flooring, and I inquired about my cabinets, I was told that it would not be a problem. I also noted to the representative that when I inspected my basement floor only one tile was wet. Later, another representative from Empire said it wasn’t measured properly. He said since the office is now closed at 8:30 there was nothing he could do today; before the call ended, I inquired about my appointment with Empire for my upstairs bathroom. The Empire representative told me that they were still scheduled to come out on Saturday to install the ceramic flooring. Finally the next day around 9:00, an Empire representative called to inquire about what transpired the previous day. He stated that I needed to get a plumber out to the house and that someone will come back to perform the installation.

When I inquired about a time frame that someone would be out for my ceramic flooring; he stated that they canceled that installation as well due to the installer claiming I had a leak. I informed him that was impossible as the installer was there to install LVT for my basement bathroom and kitchen. The installer was never in my upstairs bathroom. Needless to say, I was never given an apology as to the miscommunication from the installer or Empire. I am very frustrated with Empire Today. A whole day lost from work. I contacted Empire’s customer service and received the runaround. When the plumber came to my house on my dime by the way; he informed me that no there was no sign of a leak on my toilet or anywhere else. I informed him that I was currently getting my floors redone and the installer said I had a leak.

I came to the conclusion that since I told the installer that he could not stay at my house with my family until 10 at night, he decided to claim I had a leak and that’s the reason he could tell Empire as to why he could not do the job effectively. Empire flooring has shown me that they do not care about their customers; only getting money from them. Empire prides themselves on customer service. Where was it when dealing with me? I am very displeased with the whole team at Empire Today.

The installation manager is overworked and understaffed. Even though he gave us his direct extension, we call and can do nothing but leave a message. The installers are overbooked. They get to the job site late, having rushed in from another job in another town, then rush the installation, don't finish, and then rush out to go to the next job. They have to come back multiple times. Never again. Next time we will go with a local company who we can talk to directly.

At 9:44, on the 27 my first text went to the sales rep...no reply, two more texts until he responded he had no control over scheduling and that I should contact customer service. After waiting 22 minutes for a live person I waited another 10 to be connected to the store in Suwanee GA and the "supervisor" there. She confirmed the scheduling call on the 25th, but unfortunately the flooring was still on back order. She couldn't explain why I received the confirmation call, nor the lack of concern from the sales rep. Needless to say, we have cancelled the installation and sale and have requested a refund. I guess Empire is so big that a 20k job is irrelevant. Will do everything possible to let neighbors and others know the lack of professionalism with respect to Empire Flooring. Glad I found out about Empire before the installation. God forbid we had a problem.

That has been 8 months and we still cannot use our toilet and they want the money which is left on the account without fixing it. No toilet, black mold on tile and all they're worried about is their money. Finally received some financial assistance from Fortiva which was 2500, paid it off within the 6 months then started getting phone calls from them saying I owe another 138.50 which they said Empire had added on. Kind of strange, that's the same figure as my monthly payment exact. So not happy with in house financing either.

Once installed, we were very satisfied with the quality of Empire. It definitely measured up to things that cost quite a bit more. I liked the general appearance of the carpeting and it was obviously not a low-end product. It looked very nice. We're not giving it very hard wear at this point since it was installed in rooms that are not used daily. The price was a definite factor as well in choosing Empire, and we got a very good price from them.

They finally came out to reinstall the product and an hour into the project the installer called me over and told me that it was laying the same way, that it was just a cheap product made poorly and there was nothing they could do. Yes they actually said that. Not something you want to hear after spending almost $4,000.00. They finished the section they were laying and left. Now the planks are actually lifting and the floor really does look cheap. The PERGO flooring I had before actually looked much better and I now wish never would have done this or would have called someone else. It has been a few weeks and no one has called me back. No surprise. It takes that long to get a return phone call. I was left with no instructions on how to care for the floors, cleaning, etc either time and 2 of the wood floor dividers came off as well. What a disappointing experience with a company that I thought I could trust.

After researching, I found out that it cannot be refinished. Why would I spent this much money on the thinnest engineered flooring. I would want the thicker 3/4 that would last and could be refinished. On a positive note, the installers did a great job!!! They were professional and didn't even take a lunch. They said they wanted to get finished that day. Also, I'm very confused as to what to use to clean this floor. What do I use??? Overall nice floor, but I stated my concerns and issues. I may have overpaid, although this was supposed to be a BIG SALE.

More disastrously the rescheduling notice is told at last moment (on the day of installation or previous evening) while all the furniture are moved outside the house, causing inconvenience and severe trouble. While the Empire Today customer service is rude and inconsiderate of the trouble been caused and wouldn't get the job done on the agreed date and have missed the agreed contract 3 times as of today. I wish others and Consumer Affairs in specific take cautious and take note of this bad company been dishonest and unprofessional to the consumers.

Original Review: June 22, 2016

I set-up an appointment with Empire to discuss carpet replacement on my stairs and my loft. The sales rep, Nicole, was timely, very professional and knowledgeable. She had a great disposition and made the quote process very easy by giving me multiple quotes for different options for carpet and flooring. During that appointment I made an appointment for carpet install and let Nicole know that my neighbor would come over for the install because I would be at work, she made this note on my paperwork so it would be relayed to the install team. I received an appointment confirmation e-mail from Empire that I would receive a call in the AM to be notified of my expected time frame. On the day of my install I received a call but I missed by seconds, I waited for the caller to leave a message as it was an unknown number.

My voice mail light finally lit up but when I tried to retrieve it, it was only a 2 second "message" which was not a message at all but just the caller hanging up the phone. I never received another call. I called Empire at 2 pm and was told that the installer called me multiple times with no answer and left a voice mail, these statements were not true. Nonetheless, I was scheduled for the next day, I let them know that I must receive a call as their appointment confirmation states I will. The next day, no call, at all. I call again at 2 pm and was told the installer showed up but no one was home.

Finally I was transferred to a manager who was very apologetic and wanted to help. She was going to ensure I would get a call before my next appointment and said this is Empire's standard practice and it should be followed. Luckily, the guys actually did come back to my residence that evening, arriving at 5:45 pm, still no call, but this time I was home from work so all is well. The two man team was friendly and completed the job in good time. After the job I walked in and all looked great at first sight. I noticed the edges of the stairs, after the fourth stair (there are 16) was not tucked on the edges, I tugged at it (on the left side) and asked "is this ok for it to lift up like this?" He says, "yes that is fine - it won't come all of the way off."

Since this is my first house (ever) and I have no frame of reference for what a carpet install should look like, I figured I would give him the benefit of the doubt but planned to follow-up with the office. Once he left, literally one minute after, I was walking back down the stairs from the loft, which looks amazing by the way, I noticed that the right side of the carpet on the stairs (the opposite side of where I tugged) seemed to separate a little as I stepped on the stair.

I knelt down for closer inspection to realize the last half inch of my stair case was a strip of carpet! So either the installer measured wrong and figured he could fix it and hide it with this strip or he did this purposely as a part of his "technique". Either way, I do know that this is not appropriate for an installation on a stair case, the thread should be one piece of carpet end to end. When I walked to the bottom of the stairs then looked back up, I could then see the imperfection all the way up, after stair 4. So needless to say, that explains why he didn't tuck the sides, he certainly couldn't do it on the 1/2 inch side and if he did it on the other it would then be obvious and look strange.

I did report this to the main number, and was told it could take up to 3 days before anyone called me back with "next steps". Not sure what next steps need to be taken other than the job being redone correctly, I didn't pay to have scraps installed. I called back today at 1 pm, because a 3 day turn around after I've paid nearly $900 for a bad quality install on half my project did not seem appropriate. Again I will say the loft was great, I was pleased with that area but the stairs have to be corrected immediately. After advising that I would request the charge to be reversed if I did not received a call back today, then the customer service agent advised that she was given permission by management to give me an appointment for someone to come out on this Friday.

I do hope that Empire will ensure that their contractors stand by their work and get this job redone appropriately and timely, especially now that I have paid in full - which is required before they start the job. I will post an update to this review after the Friday visit. I do like Empire's selection of flooring and the sales team seems to be great, but if the installation is not quality that's a problem for me. I have another carpet job and was looking forward to working with Nicole again to get it done, but I think I'm going to wait and see how this plays out first.

When a corner of the layers of linoleum was pulled up it became evident that there was an entire hardwood floor that needed nothing more than refinishing in this 65-year-old kitchen. I contacted Empire to cancel, and they assured me that my $200 deposit and my $1373 payment would be returned to my account. Now I discover that because I paid with "electronic check," when I could have easily paid with a credit card had I been given the option, it will be 15 days before the refund will show up in my account so Empire has $1573 of my money for absolutely nothing. I wish that I had never contacted them, and whenever I hear their jingle on TV it will bring back my memories of this nerve-racking encounter.

After a month goes by and no card we make another call we get "you will receive it within 12 days." We have made numerous calls which is ridiculous. This has been going on for 3 months. I think they never intend to give you the gift card. They just hope you get the runaround so much you just give up. The referral program is false. They will take your referral but you will never get your $100 gift card. So my customer service rating is for the referral program.

It's now almost a week later and still the job is halfway finished. They ordered the wrong material (color) how hard is it to match the floor with the trim? Now the installer calls me and wants to be paid for the work done and the materials. Guess what my response was: Get the job done and you will get paid, not a moment before... Now, I was born in 1959 when this company started. 56 years later they still can't get a simple job right. It's only a 2 hour job... Go to a LOCAL company and have them install it. AVOID THIS MESS...

I asked him why, he said "how do I know what you want to see if we haven't talked yet." Good point! After a short but informative conversation, Larry said "I think I know just what you need." He was right. He came in with the perfect carpet for us and he cut the price from over $9500 down to $5575. That seemed a fair price and we bought it. He called in the order and came back to the table with the news, I can have this installed tomorrow. Great! He left and we were all happy... but I felt like I should have asked about any AAA or prior Military discounts. Larry said he wasn't supposed to do this, but he appreciates all vets, so he said he could make the price an even $5000.

My wife was thrilled, this means a new more $$$ for something else around the house... Can I get a witness? :) Anyway, Empire installers show up right on time on Tuesday morning and they get everything in, GREAT, until I get home and see the bill is still at $5575. When I call Larry, he said he would take care of it, and not to worry. He asked about my satisfaction other than that. I said I was very satisfied but I would not STAY satisfied unless the $575 issue was taken care of. I received a text and email on Wed morning showing me the balance at $5000. Now THAT is the way to do business. Anyone in the Phoenix area, if you need flooring, ask for Larry, he is a man of his word and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM and Empire.

After nearly two hours of talking with Empire about this (and being on hold for about 30 minutes of that), I was told there was nothing they could or would do and that I would just have to pay for it. The workers did an excellent job in the end but the salesperson who came to the house was either dishonest or incompetent. In either case, I would not recommend Empire to anyone until they get better salespeople. In addition, I was assured on the phone on Monday that I would be getting a call within 24 hours to discuss this issue. I have not yet received a call and feel as if my critiques are being ignored. Please do not use this company for your flooring needs.

I called Empire and was given a reference number, and was told someone would call me back in 1-3 business days. No one called. I called back to be told that no one had be assigned to my problem. I ended up at the Houston office talking with the assistant of the manager, who was really nice and sympathetic. They sent out another form for me to sign to change the financing. Problem is my only choice is 12 months at 0% that was NEVER even discussed, or 48 months at 9.99% Apr. I called back and the manager got on the phone and told me those were my two options, that they are not a financing company. I told her that her salesperson had sold us on the 0% at 48 months, only to be told again that those were my only options, and again they were not a financing company.

I told her that I could not pay $700+ a month to pay it off, and that I wasn't paying interest either as that was not what we signed for. She was neither friendly or helpful, and after words were said, she hung up on me. I finally reached the salesperson, and all he could tell me was sorry for the misunderstanding. So now I'm stuck either paying the high monthly payment or interest.

At 9:00 the installer stated he was at my home. I immediately left work. The installer came and walked the areas that I needed the carpet installed. He told me that the representative did not measure properly. I called the representative and she said that the installer did not bring enough carpet. Later, another representative from Empire called and said it wasn't measured properly. He said he would call me back and 2 hours later I'm still waiting on a call back and a refund.