Empire Today Reviews

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.

I reviewed my warranty, and found that fiber wear and heavy soil could possibly be covered by warranty. However, it would require Empire to send someone from their Warranty department out to my home to look at the carpet. I called, received a ticket, and was told that someone would call me back. They did, but I missed their called during my work hours. I called back the next morning, left a message. No return call back for a week so I called again and found that my ticket had been closed. I reopened the ticket again and am still waiting on someone to help me. I just wanted to know if anyone else has received favorable post sales support? Any company can dance and perform for a sale, but the true test is afterwards. Hoping that others will ask the same question before they purchase from you.

On June 8 the carpet installer came to my home and I was told that they do not conduct repairs. I called customer service and Sheri spoke to the installer in Spanish, the next thing I know the installer said they were done. (The job was incomplete.) The customer representative explained that he did not have the materials and that the laminate installer can fix the floor and then the carpet would be installed. (It was a replacement of one piece of plywood.) At 1 pm the laminate installer came to my home and informed me that he did not have the materials to fix the floor then informed me that I would have to get plywood installed on my floor in order to install the laminate. The installer called his manager and I was told that it would be an additional $600. Meanwhile I already paid $6500 for the project. On top of that I was told that the floor that was recommended to us was not good for stairs, that someone can slip and get hurt.

I called the representative that sold us the floor and customer service. I was assured that the installers would be back the following day to fix the floor and finish the carpet job. I spoke to Rubin in Stutters and I was assured the situation was fixed and that my carpet would be installed and the floor fixed. One June 9th at 11 am, I called customer service again 'cause no one called to tell me when the carpet installer were coming. I was told by Victor that I was on the schedule and they would arrive between 11 am to 6 pm. At 1:30 pm I called Rubin who supposedly fixed the problem and I was told that he was not at his desk, he must have went to lunch. He told me his hours were 12 pm to 8:30 pm. I left my contact information and asked for a call back.

At 3 pm I called yet again, I did not receive a phone call and I got Rubin. I asked the status, I was told he had no idea what was going on. He did what he was told the day prior, he was at a loss. I asked to speak to a manager and was told they were unavailable. Again I left my contact information for a phone call. I called again at 4:00 pm and I got Victor. I was told that I was not on the schedule and that my carpet was returned. I asked to talk to a manager yet again and said I would hold. Bobby answered the phone and explained that the order was not put incorrectly by Rubin and I was not getting room finished today. I called since 11 am and it was not until 4:15 that I was told I was not in the schedule. I took time off of work for 2 days for absolutely nothing. I spent most of the day on the phone with multiple people and still no resolution. I was assured by Bobby that I was the schedule for first thing between 8:30 am and 11 am.

Today June 10 I called yet again to check the status of my install. I was told that they couldn't do it 'cause the plywood had to be replaced and that was my responsibility. Tim from the install department told me that the carpet installers do not fix the floors. My statement to him was "So for the past 3 days I was lied to". His reply "I guess so, I don't know what to tell you."

I have never in my life have I had this many issues with a simple carpet install. I have cancelled both the carpet and the laminate order. The communication between departments is terrible, and the fact I was told I was lied to and spoken to like it didn't matter was appalling. I have lost time at work and the stress that was put on me is inexcusable. I was told that due to I paid via check I would receive a check in the mail. Considering all the other promises I was given, I seriously hope they are right!

Next day I get a call from Oscar that they will do it for 2800.00. I said, "Please send me a quote so I can look at it". They say they cannot do it. "Get a email and a postcard to call or write". So I call, get another person, he says his name is Oscar. They say not same person, cannot beat 2800.00 but will not send anything because they will not be beat. I paid 35.00 at Lowe's, got a price which is cheaper than Empire's but they still will not send anything. Lowes is better padding, looks to be better padding, now Empire who says they will not be beat, does not want to respond.

During our short time there to pick out the replacement -- and during this time we were put in a conference room with samples without anyone from Empire Today to assist -- the receptionist had to get back and answer phones?! When we chose the replacement product she assured us that it was not the same and I asked that she put that down on the replacement order. Finally we were able to schedule a crew to come replace. They never showed up on the day they were supposed to and finally called at 3 pm to say they weren't coming when they were supposed to be there by 9 am. A whole day lost from work for my husband and I.

The crew came the following day initially saying they'd be there between 8-9 am and finally showed up around 1030 am. The installer said they would be done by 3 pm and finally left at 8 pm. The next morning we found several areas (all tagged with green tape) that are lifting, separating etc. Again we are getting the runaround from customer service, the inspector who initially came out moved to sales and it's "not his job" etc... All I get is unreturned voice mails, the runaround and crappy flooring... sadly we have 11 more rooms that need flooring/carpet. EMPIRE FLOORING DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS??? WHERE IS OUR LINK TO RESOLUTION? Hope that anyone who reads this thinks twice about using Empire Today. NOT WORTH IT!!!

In the 5 days that followed I tried reaching out to him no less than 10 times via phone and another 5 times via text. All to no avail. When I called the 800 number with my concerns, miraculously they were able to get through and told me to try again, which I did. Once again to no avail. Imagine that... Salesperson sells you something then disappears off the planet earth when it's signed and install set. Not so fast Craig, because I called today and not only cancelled my order, but also asked if Empire wanted to re-earn my trust, to have another salesperson contact me. This has shady written all over it.

When the guys came, I ordered tree bark - it's a dark color and I liked it - but they bring a totally different color, light brown that wasn't even close to what I ordered. You can plainly see on their webpage how dark the tree bark carpet color is. So the guys went back to the warehouse and said it's the color I ordered, but no it's not! I don't like light brown, I want the color I picked out. So now they said they will send out a representative to look at carpet again.

I truly don't have time for this, my husband is on his 9th cancer, all I wanted was the color I picked out! Funny how they don't give you a sample to leave you at home when you pick your color - now I know why they don't. I will be back on here tomorrow to let everyone know how it goes. If you don't see me back on to rate them, that means they wouldn't let me. All I want is the carpet I picked out or my money back and if I want my money back, I hope they don't send a check in the mail and have to wait for it. Wish me luck, so far not so good.

I was transferred to Carlos. Carlos said the best they could do was June 8th-9th and if I needed anything, to call him. I have called Carlos twice and he has never called me back. All I wanted to do was confirm that they are coming the 8th and 9th of June. Well I found my sales rep's business card at the house and call Bruce. And to my surprise he said he had quit. He told me your company is a scam and you do this to everyone. Take their money, make people pay in full and never deliver on dates promised. He said that he was tired of getting complaints from customers like myself and he had quit but was kind enough, after trashing your company, to give me the number to his district manager Mike. And guess what, I called Mike, told him all I wanted to do was confirm that someone was coming on the 8th and 9th and that everything would be completed.

Told Mike what Bruce said about the company, gave him my confirmations and he promised to call me back by Friday. SHOCKING. Here I am Monday and have not heard from Mike. Clearly Bruce was correct about the company. No call back from Carlos or the DM Mike. Yet I paid in full as required almost a month ago. And I will add that I did everything else as requested. All my flooring and trim have been removed and all the appliances are out of the house. So imagine how upset I was to be told on the 28th, sorry we had too many call offs this holiday weekend. And yes, that is what I was told. This was my first time doing business with you and it will be my last. You promise 1/2 price and next day installation. Then you quote a price of 18k and a 4 week install. Very disappointed.

I was told no, and then nothing. We lost connection. I did not receive a call back and had to call the 1-800-588-2300 number to ask what to do. They also could not get in touch with my local office. I was giving a ticket number and told that someone would call me back within 24 hours. I also attempted to call the sales rep who came to our home, left a message and have not heard back. I couldn't be more unsatisfied with this level of customer services across the board. We are losing money due to taking time off, and are now sitting in a virtually empty home, not having ANY idea what-so-ever what to do. Thanks Empire.

In the early morning I received a call from customer service that they would be coming in the morning. As the father of a toddler, I called after a couple of hours to see if they had an ETA as it would be great if I could at least go to the park for bit. I was informed at that time that the flooring wasn't in stock and that no one was coming on that day. Had I not called when I did, I would have waited until 6:00pm for no one. Once the flooring was conformed to be in stock, I made another appointment, which was for this past Tuesday, May 31st. In the morning, I again received a call that they would be coming and was even given a window of between 1:30pm and 2:30pm, which I really appreciated (I have that message saved on my phone). At 3:00pm I called back the contact number and left a message. I did the same at 4:00pm, 5:00 and finally at 6:15 went out to dinner as clearly no one was coming.

The next day I called customer service and was quite upset and demanded that they make the next appointment with a morning window since they had been so negligent with all of the other appointments. I was told I would hear back from a manager and today, Sunday, June 5th, am still awaiting a call back. I am absolutely disgusted with the lack of communication, customer service and professionalism I have received from Empire Today.

The installers didn't show up until 10:30 am. They didn't finish the work and started packing up without even telling me that they are leaving at 4 pm. When I asked they said they will come back tomorrow; like I DO NOT HAVE A JOB??? They were supposed to show up at 8 am the next day and I got a call at 6:45 am that "HE" is standing outside my door. I told him that his appointment was at 8 am and he didn't respond. Two other installers showed up later and they were just rushing to "FINISH" the job. When I did the inspection I told them that the installation is not right and the quarter rounds have nails visible. They said this is the best they can do. I called the sales rep and he assured me that it will be taken care of.

Another day another appointment and the installer comes in to inspect the floor and realized it is not glued properly. it creaks when you walk on it. He said he will need to order more wood and needs to schedule another day for installation. He scheduled a Sunday on a long weekend since he cannot work on Saturdays. We didn't make any plans for the weekend since we had this appointment and sent a text to my sales guy to confirm the appointment on Friday evening. I was told that my appointment is on Saturday - SURPRISE!!! I got a call from Empire today on Saturday morning at 8 am that the installer had a family emergency and they will need to reschedule. I told her that my original appointment was on Sunday and she said that she will call the installer and call me right back to confirm - Have not heard back from her yet - been a week already.

I wish I would have read reviews online before trusting them. This 6-7 hrs job has turned into few months and I am still waiting for a resolution. Take my advice-- do not hire them. Just go to Lowes or Home Depot. At least they stand behind their work. I have hired them for other projects in past and never had an issue. I would give them a ZERO star if I could.

Brad ** asked to e-mail them three different estimates from different companies so we did and we told them they overcharged us. We told them, "You can go to any mom and pop shop and you can get much better prices with much better material," and after that they never contact us back. I called them and they told me that they aren't going reimburse us anything. I'd also like to mention that the hardwood floors were placed very badly, they feel like they're floating on another layer and they also slide up and down, which they aren't supposed to do. I called them so they can came and fix it, but since two week ago they haven't return my call. It's just really sad that people from this company are this abusive and think that we are never going to notice. Please, please save yourself some money, time and try to get two or three more estimates.

Tuesday 7 am I get a call saying my carpet is out of stock and cannot be installed this day. No ETA either. He said he would call back by end of day, which he did to say he still did not have ETA and he would call me tomorrow. He did not call back as of 1 pm the next day so I called him and he said carpet can be installed Friday morning. I have been displaced for 4 days. Why was our confirmed order and installation date for Tuesday suddenly cancelled? Why does Empire not have a way to check stock of carpet and actually hold it for customers to be able to meet normal expectations of customers?

I have not had my carpet installed yet, it's supposed to happen tomorrow but I am beyond frustrated and not expecting anything great. I called customer service and was told that this happens and it's no big deal. It's a huge deal for me to not be able to eat at my kitchen table and having 5 people sleep on the floor. So upset. My sales person never responded to my text or call to him asking for his assistance.

Our hardware install date was Tuesday the 24th and was scheduled for two days. Here is a bulleted description of events: The crew was scheduled for between 8 and 10 AM, they didn't show until noon, they worked until 5 PM. The second day they finished the hallway upstairs only. They had to come back a third day to install the stairs. They showed up late, took a lot of breaks including long phone calls. We had to move the carpet install from Thursday the 26th to Friday the 27th because the hardwood wasn't complete. This was going to make our departure to Vegas a tight one. At 5 PM on Thursday the 26th the hardwood floor installers said they were going to come back on Friday to finish. I objected and told them I wanted them to stay and finish and clean up. They left at 8:30 PM. My wife and I did about 2 hours of clean up, including all the debris outside so we could get them out.

On Friday morning I got a call from the installation department saying that there was an issue and they would not be able to carpet on Friday. There went the Vegas trip. I called the Sales Manager in the Phoenix office and complained, telling him that our trip to Vegas was now ruined. (He was at the lake for an extended weekend - glad he could do that). He assured me that he would have an installer at our home first thing Saturday morning to do the carpet. The carpet installer didn't show up until 12:30 PM. The office forgot or did not schedule properly, because they called an installer who had the day off, and at the last minute scheduled him to do this project. He left at 9 PM without finishing the project. Apparently they did not given him enough carpet for the master closet. We were to have an installer out Tuesday to finish, but they informed us that it would now be Wednesday before the truck would be available with the balance of the carpet.

They scheduled us for Wednesday (today June 1) for between 8 and 10 PM, the installer showed up at 1:30 PM. So a 3-day job took up 8 days of our time. The job is now complete. On Tuesday I called the office General Manager and asked him if he was aware of the poor service and why I would be unhappy. He was not and after I explained he assured me that they would have the installer at the home to finish on Wednesday morning (today) and that he would call me at 1 PM to see how the final part of the install went and talk to me about some reimbursement because I shouldn't have had to do clean up work. Wow! The GM never called. My wife and I are kicking ourselves for not selecting Express. Working with Empire has been a nightmare so I'm sure you will understand I would never use Empire again and why I will share my experience on social media so that others might take a hard second look.

I tried to rectify the issues and was informed that I could not be charged for the installation by state law until everything was complete (surprise surprise), but a request for funds would be placed to ensure the job could be paid for. After hours of trying to fix the situation, I decided to cancel the installation, but after talking to Rubin (apparently from corporate), he assured me that the installation would happen on the 1st of June and that I would receive a discount and he would personally call me if there were any issues, to include the installers running late. I was then transferred to another associate for payment and was initially given the wrong amount for the job since they didn't factor in the down payment I had already given.

After resolving that issue, I thought I was on track for my installation on the 1st of June, but no one came for the installation, so I called Rubin back since he had given me his number just in case any other issues occurred. I came to find out that there was again miscommunication, and my installation wasn't taking place until the 2nd of June, though I was assured that everything would be taken care of today. I was offered another discount, but at this point, it seems like the consistency of failure outweigh any price that I could be given since I have spent numerous hours in the past day trying to rectify this situation.

Now after another conversation in regards to the installation, I was told that the installers would be at my house on the 2nd of June by 0800. It is now 1000 and I haven't received a call or any kind of information to what is going on. I'm currently trying to cancel my order and receive a full refund for the utter failure at every level of Empire. I wouldn't recommend Empire to anyone given all of the issues that I have had and I would encourage you as a consumer to conduct further investigation in regards to other complaints from Empire since this seems to almost be standard in terms of horrible customer service and below-par installation jobs.

Original Review: May 31, 2016

I received a lot of promotions from Empire for carpet services but I am truly disappointed when I placed my first order with Empire. For the initial estimate, the guy was supposed to show up at 7PM on Wednesday. I waited till 8:30 when I called customer service to know that he had a car issue and wasn't going to make it that night. If I had not called them, I'd have waited the whole night. For the carpet installation, customer service called me on the day of installation to tell me that they can't come out because they don't have technicians available. I took off work so I can wait for them and that's all they have to say? What kind of business are they running? In addition, I received an email for $300 for memorial promotion with free estimate. So when I mentioned that, they said that they did a price matched for me already so that promotion is inapplicable to my order.

Two days later they came out to install a dark walnut laminate in the game room. The game room has a dark wood layers paneling in it. The trim was supposed to be "Gunstock" which is a stained wood. They tried to install white. We stopped them and were told that the warehouse was out and that they would reschedule the trim install.

We rescheduled the install for the next Friday. The installer called on Friday and we tried to verify that he had the correct trim. All he had was white!!! So now we have another appointment this Friday. Upon further inspection I have found that the tiles are not installed properly in the master bath as the tiles in front of the toilet are running at an angle and not parallel with the wall or the bath. So every time you sit on the toilet you have to see proof of the "professional installation". Also looking at the game room which has a tile walkway on one side the transition that was installed is all walnut like the flooring except one piece which is cherry and is wider and a different design!! Do not use this company!

When I called, the customer service rep keeps misunderstanding that I was calling about a rescheduling of the measurement. I had to explain a few times that this is a cancellation call so was finally given a confirmation number. A few days later, I had inquired about cancelling the wells fargo account for the financing and an eta for my return to which they responded 30 business days.

The deposit charge was made on 3/20 and I just received my refund during the last week of may and Empire had nothing to do with this. I had to contact my credit card directly and dispute the charge. This is something that I should've done from the outset. Since 3/20, I had made numerous attempts via email and calls regarding the status of my refund. Since the aforementioned 30 day business day email, I received no responses via email and the customer service reps I spoke to had to call another office to call me back but none ever did. When I last called, the confirmation number that I gave referenced a rescheduling of the measurement as opposed to a cancellation. However, I never received calls about a reschedule so this clearly is a spurious claim.

For those on a meager budget, I would not recommend calling this company 1st, if at all. I don't understand why you're paying 3-4 times more than their competitors. I tried to justify the cost but it just doesn't add up (i.e., is it due to the "lifetime warranty" or the installation cost - but I had to remove the old blinds myself so they wouldn't charge me $20 per blind but this is what their competitors are charging to remove the old blinds and install the new). I already informed some friends looking to redo their blinds to look elsewhere. Also, this review is not the only one critical of their refund policy. Apparently, you need to make your concerns public in order to finalize your refund or don't bother dealing with them at all and just contact your credit card company posthaste. Empire's customer service ceases to exist during the refund process.

He rushed through the job and managed to damage my house in several areas. He not only failed to level the subfloor before install. He cut razor scratches into 200+ of my brand new planks! He cut up my cabinetry kick boards. He even managed to unbalance my dishwasher, put my toilet in very far off center, and broke the linkage, because it cannot be lifted without unhooking the cable. (The toilet has a one button for pee, and another button for poo. Not the standard generic toilet 'guts'.) He even failed to line up all the millwork, which I had meticulously labelled with permanent marker and corresponding numbers on masking tape where each piece was to be reinstalled.

He of course was unable to finish in 1 day, and rushed through the work, so poorly the 2nd day, that he didn't even remember he needed to bring a saw which could cut 44-46 degree angles for all the corners! So rather than getting the tool and coming back, he just called it good leaving over a dozen pieces unattached. (I cut all the pieces I broke to size with my skill saw, however didn't attempt the edge cut, because I didn't have the right saw for the job.) After 2 business days, when the customer service representative Amy in Seattle, chose to call us back, she began by accusing my wife of lying! She claimed there was no way the installer did this sort of damage, and assured me it'd all be 'replaced', 'reinstalled' in one day.

Well she sent out Gary, who was willing and able to fix all the millwork. However she didn't even send him with a toilet ring to begin to tackle that mess. He also was only sent with 5 boxes when this job is going to take well over 30 boxes, if he was even able to meticulously remove most of the existing planks and solely had to replace all the damaged ones. This doesn't begin to address my cabinetry damage, nor my ajar dishwasher! The guy didn't even plug in my stove which I paid him to move. (So I was forced to move it myself, on felt pads, which he chose not to use.) Where he moved my fridge and toilet there are skid marks and wax slicks respectively.

I was so furious I began the claims process, to get this matter resolved immediately. We spent over $7,500 on these brand new floors, and they offered me a measly $750 for my damages! Without even replacing the marred pieces, fixing my toilet or my dishwasher or cabinets! I decided to contact our Attorney General here in WA, as well as the BBB, and will begin posting bad reviews on every possible site I can find, to hopefully save some other honest folks from suffering what we are going through!

They make many promises, and quite frankly commit gross negligence, as well as fraud of their contracts; contract fraud occurs when one party in a contract presents information to another that is incorrect, deceitful, or meant to confuse. We were told it would take a few days, to have the floors done right the first time. We were told everything was going to be fixed by the 2nd installer. Then came the claims specialist, and finally it's been 10 days since these problems were brought to their attention, yet nothing has happened!

I have wasted countless hours, just trying to get the corporation to acknowledge that there is a problem, and their solutions aren't solving any of my problems. Anyone in their right mind, would be irate at this point. As soon as they got our money, they really quit communicating. As potential customers we got routine calls daily. As unhappy as we are, we just asked for our money back, in order to hire a competent crew to redo our entire house. (We still are going to hire professionals to fix the cabinets, the toilet and the dishwasher as well!)

Funny thing is, we were thinking of using Empire for our homes shutter blinds, but after this fiasco even if they give us our money back, I highly doubt we'd consider using Empire for any other job EVER! Their own warranty guarantees the workmanship will be performed without defect for 1 year! We didn't even get to enjoy our new floors for one day, and we've wasted over a week trying to get some resolve! Just trust me, go with Home Depot, or Lowe's... as they both offer price matching as well, and are much more reputable corporations to work with. At least when something goes wrong they are honorable and keep to their contracts! In this case, I have tried to reach someone higher up the corporate food ladder than customer service, but they fail to connect me with the VP or head of the Western WA franchise! I hope they reconsider, before I am forced to seek legal representation regarding this matter!

If I could give them negative stars I would have. I cannot believe there aren't class action lawsuits against them right now, for running a business solely for profit, without even actually considering the customers! I am looking for a refund. But if you have experienced anything like this, please do get in touch, so we can get together and see whether we have an actionable case cooperatively! I want to see my installer actually pay out his surety insurance bond, to help offset the damages to my home! I don't think he should still have a job, let alone be defended by the corporation as 'doing 90 percent of their luxury vinyl installs'! This frankly scares me to consider. (I wonder how many people out there got razor score marks all over their brand new floors when Antoine did their installs?)

I am not going to accept work that doesn't end up as I was promised. Which simply put was wall to wall, without transitions, level and flush luxury vinyl plank floors. What I got was worse than myself and my 4 year old would have produced! Apparently Empire doesn't care, because I felt insulted with a $750 offer. Seriously just buying the materials to replace half of my floors, which is an earnest guess, since many pieces are bound to break in the attempts to remove the existing floors for replacement, as they interlock under tension. 10 percent is not an acceptable offer, when you consider the need to install via remove, replace, actually level subfloor. Just getting the plumber and pieces to fix toilet, dishwasher and specialist to resurface my cabinetry... will likely cost more than that measly $750! How absurd!

I have included a couple pictures which show the surface area of damaged floors. It is like this in every room, every closet, throughout the house! And if you get close enough, you can easily see the score marks which cut down into the core of the planks! This is not acceptable, everyone could agree? They promise refunds if they fail to deliver on quality, yet when it is apparent, they act like that is not an option! I am emotionally taxed, and quite frankly tired of being ignored. Good luck guys.

I might add the prices were RIDICULOUS at $5-8 a sq ft where comparable carpets sold for around $2.50-3 a sq ft. When I got a reasonable deal I agreed to the install being tired of shopping. Well, first they rescheduled my first install appt. Ok, fine. Then when install day came they called me to confirm my install appt for the next day. They gave me an order number and sent the confirmation email too. That morning comes and I hear nothing so I call. I'm told, "No, you're on for tomorrow now. But that's funny, we don't even have any installers until next week."

I said, "Are you kidding me?! Our beds are all torn down, our electronics disconnected, a giant heavy armoire is moved and now no carpet?!" The manager advised me she would try to get installers tomorrow and try to get a discount. I waited nearly all day and no return call. Finally I called back and was told she was gone to lunch. No callback. I called and canceled with another manager. Now let's see if I get my deposit. Empire is a nightmare!!!

I contacted my Sales Rep and she gave me the 800 number to call and ask for 'Brett'. I told her 'I do not want to be placed on hold for 30' (as this has been a pattern when trying to call customer service) and be given the run around so she gave me Brett's number. He works in the warehouse. So I had to leave a message for Brett. He called back and said he does not have an 'ETA?' Again I ask. What went wrong? Our order was placed over 3 weeks ago. He of course had no answer. So I waited and waited, called and text messaged throughout the day. I got another 'automated' message saying our install was scheduled for 5/27... which is today. I contacted my sales rep and told her I got an 'automated' message. I don't believe any automated messages that I get from Empire any longer.

It is now 10:04 a.m. on Friday morning and I just now got a call from Customer Services. The representative once again told me our carpet had not come in yet. What? I ask again? The carpet we ordered was nothing high end and we were told it was in stock. What happened to Empire's Sales Value Proposition? 'Order one day and have installed the next?' My Sales Rep said she forwarded my email of concern to her GM Mr. Brian **. This was sent the evening of 5/26. I have not heard from him or any of his team members. So our home is turned upside down for who knows how many more days. It is a 3 day holiday weekend.

Update: I just got off the phone with Customer Service and an 'auto email' once again came in that my carpet is scheduled for 5/28. That is a complete lie. I just got off the phone with customer service and she just got done telling me she does not know if the carpet will be in for an install tomorrow and would be calling me. Really? What is going on? Does anyone care? No proactive calls from anyone from Management being apologetic so I have to resort to Consumer Affairs to be heard. Really? This is horrible customer service. If I ran my business like this I would be out of business. Completely dissatisfied.

When I called the 800 number, I was told that no one was available to speak to reference Dave's mistake. No one called us Tuesday, so I went through the whole process again. Still no installation date. No one called us Wednesday, so again I went through the whole process. Still no installation date. On Thursday I was beyond irritated and called the 800 number because still no one from Empire had bothered to contact us. I spoke to an excellent customer service rep named Orlando. He went above and beyond, calling and leaving messages for multiple people. He also commented that someone named Latisha (or something like that) had noted on our account that she had called us. I have one word for her: Liar. We have cellphones with caller ID and voicemail, along with a home telephone that also has caller ID and an answering machine. She NEVER called us.

I then called the salesman Dave and left him a message telling him to call us immediately. He finally calls back and acts surprised that we weren't taken care of yet. Great acting. Then he tells us he's going to run to his car and grab the phone number of someone from Empire that we can speak to. That phone call back from him never happened. I didn't hold my breath as he had lied to us for 5 days. Brian, the installation manager, then called us. This was Thursday night. He guaranteed us that someone would be out that Saturday to finish the installation. A whole 13 square feet. On Saturday, no installers. I called Brian. He called me back, apologizing as he had forgotten to schedule an installer. He then arranged for installers to come to our house that Sunday. We finally got the job finished.

We had told Dave when he first came to our home that we would consider Empire for carpeting in the rest of our home if they did a good job on the kitchen floor. 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, closets, foyer, landings and stairs. That will NEVER happen. I will tell anyone and everyone to double and triple check that the salesman knows his job as ours obviously didn't. And when the installers call to say they're on their way, double check to make sure that they have enough flooring. We had no idea that we needed to do this as we thought the salesman was competent. He wasn't, and we paid for it.

We called, texted and emailed our local rep who sold us the floor. He never returned one call, email or text...no attempt by him to help us whatsoever. We canceled the order and told then to refund our deposit immediately. Five days later they still have our money and still have not started the refund. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY! Their customer service is horrific! Call their competitor National Floor. National Floor went out of their way to accommodate us after the horrific experience with Empire Today.

My toilet was not leaking until after they pulled it up and put it back and would think that they would assume responsibility for this. I'm still waiting to hear. My daughter also bought carpet linoleum and laminate. The carpet and laminate were installed. She is still waiting for the vinyl to be installed about 3 weeks now since other installation.

Plus it took over a week for them to tell us this disgusting deal of theirs.

Updated on 05/31/2016: Received your notice today that this matter was resolved. I'm not satisfied with their arrangement. My husband might have squared off with them. But I think they should of removed this flooring with all these squiggly lines, not charged us for that and put in a decent floor. After all, this is not the flooring I waited 30 yrs to have put in... I just can't believe they told my husband there is nothing else out there besides this supposedly stone looking flooring. As for me, I will never be satisfied with this flooring...