Carpet and Flooring Reviews - Empire Today

Original review posted by user Sep 02, 2017

Customer Service has tried to resolve my problem since the installation date. My original concern was the white caulking and quarter round on brown floor.

I thought that caulking would be used in the area of tile in the bathroom, not around every corner. Which is very sloppy. Caulking is too generously used and it is white. I had wood floor installed downstairs and it did not look like this vinyl install.

I am sorry I had this work done without getting other estimates, but I believed that Empire Today would have experience with flooring that would be professional. The salesman said that caulking would be used, he pointed to the tile, and that it would be a thin bead. There is not a thin bead anywhere. The vinyl is installed in one large sheet and cement is used to glue it down.

The cement is on the wall in some places and on the door. The baseboard shows damage or cement in different places. I do not know how this problem can be resolved without more damage to the baseboard and other areas. The tiles in the bathroom came loose and fell of when I leaned against them while the last installer was there.

The tiles were not noticed as we have been out of town. I had listed my complaints before. Mainly I had been addressing the color not the damage. I should have included that also when I first began with the concerns.

I had submitted photos before. I will submit them again. The last email conversation said that they do not have the quarter round and caulking to match my flooring and that I would have to go to the store and buy them myself. Not acceptable.

Also the same poor installers were required to come back out to fix the problems. How could that work.

If they thought they did a good job why would I want them back again? A supervisor came to inspect but did not mention the damage, which he could clearly see.

We received a quote and subsequently a followup from Empire to lower the quote. The salesman was annoyed and never sent the updated document.

My husband spoke to him and he confirmed our install dates. The next day my husband followed up again for the updated paperwork because they were supposed to install floors that Monday (this was Friday). The salesman starting screaming at my husband and said he never locked in the dates. My husband yelled back that they had and we even changed our move date to accommodate the vinyl floor install.

WE then asked for his managers name because his behavior was completely unprofessional. He gave a name and then said "and don't f@@x+++ lie. He actually used the f word. I had my husband hang up and called the 800#.

It was a Friday night and they assured me a manager would call me back on Saturday. Have not heard from anyone.

Would never use them and will tell that to anyone that will listen. Horrible experinece

I am still waiting for my $2K refund to hit my account. Apparently Empire "couldn't find the payment" which is why my refund has not been processed (even though I received a confirmation email the day I made the payment and it hit my credit card immediately).

We had a pretty horrible experience with Empire and I will definitely not be using your company again or recommending you to anyone. This was a carpet installation for a business that was scheduled almost a month in advance of the installation. We set a date and asked Empire to confirm they were available to do it on this day, which they did. We then asked our tenants to be out of the office on that Friday and to disconnect and move all their computer equipment prior to the installation.

The day before we asked empire to confirm what time they would arrive for the installation. They informed us that we would have to call the national number in the morning, however it would most likely be between 8 and 10 am (this should have been a red flag - not sure why you are scheduling the installers the day of). We arrived at 8 am on Friday in preparation for the installation. I called Empire immediately to see when they would be arriving, I was told to call back.

This happened about 5 more times until I was eventually told that they did not have enough installers that day and that they would have to reschedule. I was pretty annoyed at this point, but I agreed that we could have the installation done the next day. I also made it clear that we needed the installation done before Monday morning since this is when the tenants were returning to the office. We live about an hour away from the office so we requested an afternoon installation with our sales associate, Gary.

Gary said this shouldn't be a problem. At 9 am the next morning we get a call from the installer saying he was at the office and ready for the installation. We were pretty confused and told him the installation was supposed to be in the afternoon, he then told us "it was not his problem" and to contact the national line. We then tried to see if someone else could come out and meet him last minute, however by the time I got in touch with the national line he was already at a different job.

I then called 5 more times (I seriously spent my entire morning on the phone with your company) to get an update on the timing of the installation. I then finally was told that they would have to reschedule again because we had requested a morning appointment (um what?!) and they did not have enough installers. I was pretty furious at this point. Your employees were rude, disorganized, and unhelpful.

I was also hung up on at one point when I asked to speak to a supervisor. When I called the installer back he said I had the wrong number. I have asked for my money back and I will never use your company again. We found a new local company who did the carpet installation the next day.

I lost 2 days of rent because of Empire and I have very angry tenants who had to be out of the office for numerous days. Hopefully you will learn from your terrible reviews and fix your company.

This was seriously one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever dealt with. I am hoping I receive my refund within the next couple of days and don't have to take this to small claims court.

sales person Ed G. been with company 30+ yrs.

we tried getting him to FIX this issue and do the right thing. his words "not my issue". WOW Day 1- 6/15 received call indicated cant do carpet and laminate in different days, due to a liability. will send out our best crews- me okay great!

are you sure it will be done in one day! CS Rep "yes" Day 2- 6/16- rec call at 7:30AM indicating we are 1st on route 2-3 hours before they get to our house. after a few calls this 1 installer showed up at 1:05PM with no tools to put in laminate :/ after trying to cancel. The cancellation person James, asked me not to cancel and he would make sure, someone would get tools in an hour.

THAT never happened. This installer (one) was at our house till MIDNIGHT! WE ASKED HIM TO LEAVE IT . we had furniture to move, my 9-10yr old were moving furniture on my sons BDAY!

so he can get started. my husband had to buy screws to assist so that the squeaks would be removed. as per the sales guy "that's what we do" we would get 2 sets of crews to get this done. again, only one guy showed up.

The Install manager set this employee up to fail. Day 3- 6/17 after numerous calls to managers/VP still nothing, installer at our house till 9PM and hallway and stairs still not done. He finally told us, he was having a hard time with laminate cause he didn't know how to do it. not to mention he didn't have tools to fix stairs wood.

Day 4- 6/18 after 6 calls in the AM, they sent Tito to the rescue, he finally rocked this out in 2 hours. When we started having issues from day one, they should have sent him out. Days off with no pay. Not to mention they left the old carpet on our lawn for 2 days and now the green lawn is dying.

I don't want to deal with another company again.

Now we need to see if the work was as bad as the customer services. we shall see.

The purpose of this correspondence is to express my disgust and disappointment with Empire. For a company that has extensive advertisements on television and stands firm by their mission to please customers, they have really shown me what customer service should never be.

My first disastrous experience with Empire was on 7/8/2015 order #W216564 (Owings Mills, MD). After shopping around and getting quotes from different companies to install carpet in my house I just purchased, I made a conscious decision to go with Empire because of the representation of the company over the phone, and in person when the representative came out to give me an estimate. The initial meeting went great and I was given a date for installation. The installers, contractors that Empire uses and goes with the lowest bidder, came out and had to take cable wiring off of various parts of my wall throughout my house.

After the carpet was installed, the gentleman informed me he was finished and asked me to sign some documents. Prior to signing the documents, I informed him I wanted to see the work that was done. As I checked out each of the rooms, I noticed that the wiring, that was removed by Empire, was still hanging. I asked the gentleman if he was going to finish the work by placing the wires back where he found them, and he informed me that he would not.

I could not understand his resistance, for he was the one that removed these wires. I asked him again to please put all the wiring back as he found it and he again said he wasnt doing it. At this point I became upset and told him to get out of my house. I called Empire and informed them of this unprofessional behavior by a contractor they hired and told them that my install was not complete.

Of course, they apologized for this experience and tried to send the installer back continuing to apologize. After that experience, I vowed I would not utilize Empire again. Although I had a tumultuous experience the first time, I decided to give Empire another chance. I again shopped around for quotes on replacing my kitchen floors and because of the promises from the salesperson, I put my faith in Empire, unfortunately, again (order #1-2752310805).

The salesperson took measurements and gave me a price and date for installation after receiving my 10% down payment. The day of the installation, I took off from work (losing money for the day), disconnected my gas stove, and disconnected my refrigerator placing the food items in a couple of coolers prior to the installers arrival. The installers arrived and were professional upon greeting me. Within a few minutes of their arrival, I noticed them looking at the floor and discussing something in Spanish.

Shortly after I was informed that they were not going to be able to perform the installation because of an issue they observed, within minutes, with my sub-floor. Of course, this issue was going to cost me a significant amount of extra money. The installers stated that this was something the salesperson should have noticed and factored in with the estimate. I lost money for the day, had to reconnect my refrigerator, and lost various food items all for nothing.

As a consumer I just thought you should know that I have never experienced such an unprofessional inconsistent company in my life. Your attention to detail is horrible and all your company seems to care about is completing a sale. The sales personnel only cares about getting that commitment and could care less about the ending result.

I was the fool for giving your company a second chance and I will inform everybody within my sub-division about my experience. This is a terrible representation of your company and your company as a whole should be ashamed.

DO NOT INSTALL ANYTHING FROM EMPIRE ( THEY WILL SPOIL EVERYTHING ) I Had carpet Installation from Empire today. Sales Rep.

Visited and Quote me price everything was okay. He told me carpet installation & if they break anything fixed by empire. so we had installation so during installation they take our my all door & before pay i called customer service they told me pay amount we will send someone to fix door ( because its doors *** by empire we will fix ) i waited for 15 days ( i called 20 times ) after 20 days they told me we are not coming and you install your own doors. i asked you *** door you need to install they said we don't know u install your door and 3 times customer service hangup on me.

even i am asking for contract they are not giving me contract & no explanation. DO NOT work with Empire today they just break things not FIX.

Had carpet installed 07/14/2017, the final product to finish by basement I worked hard on. So disappointed today when I went and looked at it, the seams don't match up, bumps in the rug, while I know my cement basement flooring has imperfections, this is not professional by no means and for the $1,600.00 I paid, and I waited 2 months for installation so it would be done right.

PLEASE SEE PHOTOS Also there is NO PAPERWORK given at a home appointment, only a small receipt even when I did financing, where is paperwork describing my carpet, and a copy of signed receipt for installation, etc.? Can someone help me if they received something different or they had a different process? Thank you. Issues: CONS - Hard to ask questions regarding the installation process, language barrier with installers.

They could not answer my questions. They were polite and nice, no issue there, as they didn't. There should have been padding put down soon the lower side of the basement, I had called and asked a week before installation. It's probably what they were given by the operations department.

-Why is carpet being installed in the evening when the lighting is poor. I even called to let them know they would need lights as it was a basement, and the day of when i found out it was an evening appointment!!! Those poor installers, actually very young men, I am sure were exhausted, and then having to work til almost 7:30 pm. I am assured Empire Today stands behind their products, guarantees and warranties, we will see what they do and say, as I called Customer Service yesterday and sent email today.

PROS Customer Service- no problems! , calling local number or toll free numbers. They try and help return calls faster than sales persons, etc.

One manager did help me from local office, as well. They should receive bonuses, not an easy job.

This is the worst company with whom I have ever attempted to do business. No one showed up for the scheduled in home estimate.

I called 20 minutes before the end of scheduled time at which time the woman with whom I spoke informed me, after an unsuccessful attempt contacting the representative, "he still has 20 minutes, ma'am." At 5 minutes after the scheduled time ended, I called again, and got disconnected. I waited thinking they would call me back. They did not. I called again at which time I got disconnected yet again.

Shockingly no one called me back.

The third time I called, the woman said, "I'm sorry ma'am. I can offer you $50 off your purchase." As tempting as THAT sounded...I would never enter into a contract with these clowns!

Do not use Empire Today in the Austin/San Antonio district. This has easily been the worst customer service experience I have ever had.

This has been an absolute nightmare. The notes on our account with customer service is probably 5 pages long. We know the GM by first name: Rex Its evident their respective departments do not communicate and work independently to a fault. The Sales department hooks you, Installation sub-contracts at the lowest price, and Customer Service is just a messenger service to the various employees in charge of the customers job.

Here is an abridged version: -5 rooms: 2 laminate; 1 tile; 2 carpet (originally laminate). -Paid in full up front. -Scheduled the installation on our honeymoon so the house could be empty for the job; my sister took off work for the install. -Scheduled May 25 and as of July 5, 1 room left -Sales Rep informed us of potential extra installation costs, but contractor quoted $2000 to level floors to install laminate in 2 rooms; if wed been told by the Sales Rep, the individual responsible for quoting the job, that laminate flooring would be significantly more then we wouldve chosen carpet.

-1st contractor advised us to cancel the contract with Empire so he could do the job $500 cheaper. Seriously. -Scheduled and rescheduled more than 5 times because Ive lost count -GM Rex plays phone tag. He would call and leave a voicemail at 4:45 P.M.

on a Friday, but call back within 10 minutes and Customer Service picks up and directs you to his voicemail. This happened twice. -8 hour windows; lucky if they show up -Wife and sister lost days of income from waiting around for contractors that never showed up -Brought wrong color carpet the first time. -Scheduled one room for July 4th.

It seemed odd so we called Customer Service multiple times to confirm the date and time which they verified.

The evening of July 3rd, they call to confirm the 5th We are just ready to wash our hands of them and their business. I just want to tell as many people as possible do NOT use Empire Today.

Just plunked more than $3000 down on new carpet. First time we vacuum the carpet, it snares and pulls up a large thread.

Guy who installed it comes out, "fixes" it. Happens again, same response from Empire. Happens a 3rd time, I am promised a call within 24 hours....6 days later no call back. Rude call center employees to boot.

NEVER will I use you again. And, I'm going to start telling anyone who will listen how awful my experience has been. Not sure anyone will read this, and if they do that they would care....but on that extremely remote chance, my phone number is 734-634-2943.

Why do you have to enter at least 100 words before this platform accepts a person's review?? Seems like another way for your company to dodge feedback from customers.

While the flooring looked great upon installation, 4 days after installation, I had water seeping between the tiles in my bathroom. I am very disturbed that Empire claims to have the capability to remove and re-install a bathroom toilet in order to install new flooring in a bathroom, when I am seeing water seeping through the tiles. I would not recommend Empire to anyone.

The worst customer service EVER. When I made my appointment to look at samples, they told me they would send 300 carpet and hardwood samples.

The sales person arrived with maybe 75 samples of carpet only, 6 products in 12 different colors, and they FORGOT to bring hardwood samples. You are basically forced to make a choice from a very limited selection. Their so called "Half Off" sale is ONE carpet only, which is priced so high that even half off you can't touch it. When the time came for them to install, they called and CONFIRMED my appointment, and then NEVER SHOWED UP.

We moved a 3 bedroom house full of furniture and moved my disabled Father to another location for the installation, and they never showed up. When I called to find out what the heck was going on, they said that they had "Left a message" that they were rescheduling me to one month later!! Say NO TO EMPIRE!

Buy local... These people have no clue what they are doing, and the only way they are going to improve is if we BOYCOTT them.