Carpet and Flooring Reviews - Empire Today

Salesman Justin was a conman, said one thing, and met another, so when installer show up, another thing was said by him, totally communication problems, contact paperwork didn't get till installer show up, and customer had to print it, price and payment problem due to salesman, not being truthful Then on tile removal, installer damaged cabinets, and couldn't or wouldn't finish job, due to no experience, on how to level a low spot in floor, explain to 4 differences people in company ,no one know how to communicate, and every time you call, it says your on a recorded call for training purposes, I wouldn't recommend empire today to anyone !!!!!

Hired install for a short 9-10 ft hall (vinyl plan).....they couldnt finish on day 1-took over a week to come back & still not done......left steel plate exposed (said couldnt trim in & horrid gaps @ seams)they blamed every dept & offered NO solution...will never use again & will never recommend (as I have told my entire development)

They either don't call back or they send contractors out to fix issues, and they don't have the supplies to fix the issues. Once the contractors leave, you have to start over with no call backs again. I have been trying to get the San Francisco office to fix the bad installation since June 2021.

Yes we had are kitchen and bathroom floors done and when they did the bathroom ! They removed the toilet and put it in the bathtub or took it out they chipped the tub some how the size of a nickel maybe a little bigger they had are shower curtin covering it !

now we've been waiting for a response from the company it's been 2 weeks now .. and still waiting !

My HORRIBLE experience with Empire Today:

Empires installers arrived and took up the old carpet and old pad and then laid the new pat directly on the sub-floor over the existing old pad staples, old pad pieces stuck to the staples, existing dirt, junk, etc. Did not even attempt to clean the floor.

There was no broom or vacuum in sight.

So I got my vacuum out and at least tried to clean up all the junk around the existing tack strip and under the baseboard at the the edge of the padding so that they were at least not attaching the new carpet over junk at the tack strip areas. I complained about this to my sales person and the following day they actually vacuumed and clean the one remaining room.

An 8 long sub-floor joint in one doorway was not even. I asked Empires installers if they were going to use some floor patch to even the joint out so that I wouldnt feel it under the carpet.They said no they would not. So I went and got some of my drywall patch and troweled it on the floor.

About a 5 minute process that they refused to do. No telling where else the floor needed some minor patch that may have been covered up with the new pad before I could see it.

They also ran out of the padding I had bought and on parts of my floor they used some other padding they had with them. They also did not have enough carpet and had to return the next day with the appropriate amount.

There seems to be more carpet seams than there should have been. At one spot they put in two seams only 4 apart (at the doorway).

And seams down the hallway seem to be only 3 to 4 apart. Some of the seams are visible.

Within minutes of the installers leaving I noticed that they did not leave me any pieces from the carpet waste, which I wanted for future minor repairs and for warranty purposes (note that EMPIRES WARRANTY requires that I have some uninstalled carpet for future repairs and claims). I called the home office immediately to have them call the installers and have them come back (they were only minutes away) - no help. I then asked Empire if they could at least give the installers my phone number so the installers could call me and I would drive to them - no help.

I then called my sales person - no help.

Later that same day I offered to pay the shipping cost to have Empire ship a piece of my waste carpet to me - no help. I then asked if I could just BUY a 4x6 piece of carpet and have them ship it to me. They told me that they do not sell carpet without installation, so I told them to add installation to the cost. Empire then told me that they have a minimum $500 order.

So I would have to pay them $500 to get a small piece of my waste carpet in order to meet their warranty and for minor repairs. Carpet waste that was originally here.

I then noticed that my rooms were not heating up right. Guess what - the installers installed the carpet right over the floor heating register openings. So I had to remove the register covers and cut the carpet back.

I then emailed Empires home office about some of my concerns.

They responded to my email in that they would get back to me in 1 to 3 days - Its been 4 weeks - no one has gotten back to me. I emailed them again over a week ago (with a copy of this review) - again no response.

So I listed this review.

Note: From Empire Ones Warranty:

Please keep a copy of this warranty along with the following important documents and resources: - Copy of the sample label or sample information - A 2 x 2 uninstalled sample of your carpet - Padding information - Installers name and certification information

This documentation will provide critical information needed in the unlikely event of a claim. The uninstalled sample is recommended in case a repair or testing during a claim becomes necessary.

I have none of this from Empire and they refuse to work with me on getting a small piece of my carpet unless I pay them $500 (for a piece of my carpet waste.

I do not have time to write out another lengthy complaint. The flooring was installed in 2/21 and by 6/21 it was coming apart, bowing, and ripping apart.

For the past 6 months, since our first phone call to Lori Simich on 6/22 we have submitted photos, had repairmen out who stated all the flooring was bad, been contacted by Wayne Gray who verified with the repairmen the flooring was bad, sent out an inspector Randy, who visited for 8 minutes on 11/16, and now we have been ghosted. I call in all the time, but the last contact we had was from Randy on 11/16/21. The CSR's and myself leave voicemails and emails for Wayne and Lori, but we get no response. Our floor sits damaged and some of it sits not reinstalled by the repairmen because they said do not worry about it cuz they are replacing it.

$7000 for flooring that looks horrible. Thanks Empire!!!!

I had my flooring installed on 6 Oct and the installers did an outstanding job. I would recommend that 3-man crew for any job.

They were also very professional and courteous when moving our furniture. Thanks guys.

Now for the other personnel I dealt with. I must say that dealing with the Hampton Roads branch of Empire was a very unpleasant experience. The flooring I have is 5/8 in thickness, I didn't find out until the installers came (Sep 25th) that they brought ¼ thick flooring.

After some phone calls, I was told Empire only uses ¼. Had I known this from the beginning, I would have contracted another company that could provide what I had in place.

The other issues I had was lack of communication. The first install team (they thought they were laying new flooring on top of the old flooring) because no one told them I had a pull-up and haul away in my contract. So after an hour, they left with no work being done.

I also took issue with individuals saying they will call you at certain times and never did. Even when you call them and leave messages, calls still weren't returned. I know people are busy, but honor what you say.

And lastly, the person that sold me the flooring, said if you have any issues, give me a call. The Saturday (Sep 25th) of my installation I called, no answer, through the week I had other Empire employees call and leave voice messages to contact me.

Still haven't heard from that person to this date. I'm not going to put names out, but they know who they are. After my experience with this Empire branch, I couldn't or wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

I'll choose a different company when it's time to replace my upstairs carpets. I want to say something else, but I'll keep it professional.

I would absolutely not recommend Empire Today. I placed an order for carpet, but changed my mind on the order within the 3 days they give you to cancel.

I called to cancel, but they ended up not even cancelling it but rescheduling my install. I found that out a week later. I have been trying to cancel since then, but it has been 2 weeks with no luck.

It should be as easy to cancel as it is to order. Stay away!!!

We had scheduled to have flooring in our upstairs and the kitchen.

The upstairs and staircases were done.

The finishing work is poor, and they did not put back furniture nor clean up.

The kitchen was scheduled for another day. After waiting that morning, they cancelled at the last minute.

It was rescheduled, only for the same thing to happen again. After that, we cancelled and asked for our down payment to be returned.

It has now been almost a month, and we still have not received the check. Every week I call and am told that it is in the mail.

Had new floors installed kitchen, family room and laundry room , laminate pieces sticks up in many places asked for help from Empire for 4 months and no help , installers come when they want, and the time that they want, no return calls from the company called many times and email them no response our home is torn up waiting for a response installers told us floor should be replaced, installers did a inspection took pictures we even bought extended warranty Do8extended extended warranty

Costumer Verification SO# 00844298

The start with the sales person went well. They were knowledgeable, had samples and could show the total cost before purchase based on the carpet options.

The sales person scheduled the wrong date and installers showed up an empty house. We later had to move the date due to the completion of the tile work by someone else. The date was easy to move, no problem, Empire makes that easy. The second attempt moved again because Empire ran out of the carpet underlay.

On the actual install day, the installer had me verify the underlay mat and carpet. It took about a half day for about 700 sqft of unfurnished basement. The carpet looks good, minus a clear seam I notice, but some seam is inevitable, hopefully it blends better over time. Upon completion, there were several gauges in my baseboards, and walls from door removal.

Empire considers these minor, though they will take spakle, primer, and re-painting to look just OK since they are perfectly located on the edge of trim and decorative routing at the top of the baseboard. Several nails were left up which my 5-year-old discovered as they went into her foot.

A few Band-Aids later, I think I have knocked them all down. I am happy with the carpet overall, probably wont use empire again, will probably deter others from using them or at least tell them what to look out for since the cost did not match up the install craftsmanship, and definitely not worth the work I had to complete after.Mayb

I had Berber carpet in installed in 3 bedrooms on Feb. 11.

The installers were great .Now 4 months later the carpet is worn down in the walkway and in front of my desk. I contacted Customer Service and was told to get it cleaned. What ??? It is brand new.

I did file a claim and an Inspector came out on May 6.

Took pictures and sent them to Empire. Empire closed the case.

The Sales rep told me (voluntarily) that laminate flooring would NOT have a hollow clicking sound when you walk on it. Actually it DOES make that cheap sound.

You don't know this until the flooring installation is done. Then it is too late. Empire would not give me a refund. A senior executive told me the hollow sound would go away in four months.

Really?!? This was on top of installers being 6 hours late a

The Sales Rep measurements were all wrong. They left a

WHOLE room off the order/quote.

Then the warehouse sent the installers out without enough materials.

We had to wait TWO weeks for them to complete the job without a working kitchen during this time. Once they finally got the balance of the material in the installers got some somthing on the new hardwood floor, and it won't come off.

Contacted Empire flooring after getting estimates from LL flooring and a couple private contractors. Decided on Empire due to warranty concerns, the personality of the salesman and comparable cost with LL Flooring.

I discussed a concern with the salesman regarding the underlayment that was to be used. I hoped for an option such as DMX (LL Flooring carries) which has what I believe are better wicking capabilities. I contacted Empire through their online chat 2 days after signing the contract and expressed my concern. I was contacted by the sales Manager who sent me a copy of the spec sheet for the underlayment (sound buffer).

After reading the spec sheet I was more convinced of my concern and contacted the salesman. Long story short I was given the ok to purchase the underlayment (DMX) by sales via text messaging. I purchase 700 sf of underlayment and notified sales that all was ready for the installers. The day of the installation I contacted the salesman after 8 am that I hadn't heard from installers which prompted a call from Empire an hour later notifying me that installers would arrive between 1 and 3 that afternoon.

I had taken 2 days off from work to empty the furniture, aquarium, etc and be there for the installation. After running an errand I returned at 11:15 to find the installers had been there and gone telling my wife that they could not install the underlayment I purchased and the humidity being 100% would void warranties. I notified the salesman about the situation, and he contacted the installers called me back and said that in fact they could not install the underlayment and I would need to reschedule.

I had planned this out with Easter in mind and a large family gathering. Now I'm stuck with an install date down the road and a wife who thinks I should install myself or hire another.