Empire Today
Reviews and Complaints

This whole process has been a complete nightmare! I hate writing reviews both positive or negative, but the shenanigans have been ridiculous! I signed my contract on 11/29/18 and still don't have carpet 12/20/18. My 1st schedule date was postponed due to a snow storm. I understand that and was rescheduled for Monday (12/17). Installers came on Monday moved the furniture out of the room and removed the old pad/carpet, but when unrolling the carpet the carpet had a cut right down the middle. Rescheduled for yesterday (12/19) and has been a Nightmare since. The room is a 'man cave' i.e... garage, but this is a functional room. We insulated the room, painted, couch, chair, electronics, pad and carpet etc...five years ago when we moved in.

The lead installer yesterday stated the room temperature wasn't at the right temperature. Not True! We have a heater in that room. Again, its our TV room. If the temperature wasn't right then the first installers on Monday would not have been able to even start the job. The installers left yesterday. I still have no pad/carpet in the room from Monday when the 1st installers removed it. They started the job, but has not completed it. This group didn't want to move the furniture. Which is included in the contract.

The General Manager Kenny Edmonds states he can not promise me that he can find an installer to complete the job before Christmas. Kenny never called me yesterday. I left him a message yesterday evening. I called again today and finally received a call back this afternoon.

I asked Kenny if the Install Manager can install the carpet. His response... I'm not going to ask him to do that. Then he proceeds to state that the install manager or he are not qualified to install carpet?! That's because I asked Kenny if he could install the carpet as well.

Bottom line... They started the job, but haven't completed it. I host Christmas dinner at my house ever year and the room still has no pad/carpet just exposed concrete slab.

Is Leadership going to contact me?

Had salesman out with samples. Was told that the carpet I chose was better than the carpet that I was taking out. The carpet was installed and its junk. Way less quality than I had. Why would I want to down grade my carpet? The carpet is so thin the nails protrude through. I called and left three different messages with customer service before someone finally called me back. After speaking with the Gal that is trying to handle this, I forget her name, she set up appointment to have vendor back out with different samples for Tuesday December 11 between the hours of 5-7pm. I sat home and no one showed. The phone calls between her and I went back and forth before she agreed to send them back out. I told her this carpet is junk and the vendor had told me its better than I had. It is not. I also told her that if they do not want to replace this carpet with better carpet at no cost then they can come and pick this carpet up and refund my money. I was overcharged for the quality of carpet that was installed. And then to set up appointment to come back out and no one show up. This is ridiculous. I would never recommend Empire Today to anyone.

The salesman came out and did a great job "selling" to bad he was full of it! First part was the financing, he quoted me $27000, to which I agreed. I then filled out the finance application which was only approved to 19k. That's when he told me that 19k was the most the finance company would lend and the rest would have to be cash or have my wife apply separately. Should have told me that in advance. Long story short, the price miraculously dropped $1500... Moving on, he drew up the contract that stated that all of the old flooring would be removed and disposed of, the installation would start the following day at 9 and would be finished by mid day on sunday. At 11:30 on saturday the installers showed up and told my wife they would not finish sunday as they do not work sundays. Ok, strike two on the salesman but let's keep going. I was going out of town on a business trip and left with confidence in the installer (who were great guys). The project was completed on tuesday and I got home that evening. The old floors were not removed, the new floors were simply installed right over the top. The installers told my wife that it was better that way and that it would be a benefit if we ever sold our house?! I called empire to find out what the deal is and why I was being charged for removal and disposal if it didnt occur. Michelle in customer service stated that they would come back out and remove the old flooring, but could not remove the tile floor in the bathrooms or laundry room (even though the contract clearly stated they would). I was then told they would actually remove it but then I would have to hire a separate contractor to come out to prep and level those portions of the floor. I let her know that would not happen and if I had been told that in the beginning I would have never agreed. I then told her that I would be utilizing the cancellation agreement portion of the contract, as I was within the time frame (november 14th was the cancel by date) and they could come get their material. The agreement states you can cancel within 3 business days "without penalty or obligation". Michelle stated that I could cancel but empire was entitled to come retrieve all of their material. I agreed with her, stated she could come get it, but empire would need to put my house back to the condition it was in, including repairing the 16 entryway door frames and custom molding surrounds that were cut in order to fit the new floors (I guess they were cut because they wouldn't fit since the old floors weren't removed as required). Michelle said she didnt agree to that. She ended up offering me a reduction of around 7k, said she would talk to her manager and would be calling me back. Not trusting a word these people say, I went ahead and processed the cancellation agreement, sent a copy to their legal department as required (fedex with signature required), I also emailed a copy to the salesman and called and verbally notified a customer service rep. As expected I never heard another word from michelle, I have called multiple times with no success. The last 4 calls I have been told that they were unable to reach michelle or her manager paul, but a message was left and one of them would call me back the next day... You guessed it.. Noone has ever called me back. However, they have processed the financing portion to the tune of 19k, which is not an ammount referenced anywhere in the contract or any other paperwork.. Now I have a new floor, that you can still see the old floor underneath in one part.. I have a new floor that has assumed all of the issues of the old floor (warps, creaking, cracking) a new floor that I have to keep hammering down with a rubber mallet because portions keep popping up, and a new floor that makes popping noises when you walk over the transitions from wood to tile!

I guess I should have read all the complaints before I called this company. The installers did not speak any english... the GM in Tampa will not speak to me (the consumer)... he hides be his secretary. Empire Flooring is a joke and they do not care about you after you purchase their products. The carpet was installed as if a 5 yr old did it and they damage several of my beautiful tile... do not use this company for your home ...

I had a window treatment done by Empire a few years back. It was a bamboo type roll up shade but they put a thin backing for privacy which I wanted. The window was my front room. It is a larger center window with 2 smaller side windows - nothing huge - but Empire charged me $1000.00. Recently the backing on the middle window was tearing so I called Empire. On Oct 30 a repairman came out but couldn't fix it so it had to be taken to the shop. I paid $60.00 for this plus another $60.00 to be paid when it was returned which I was told would be in about 2 weeks.

It is now a month later and numerous calls have gotten me nowhere except a lot of "sorry" and promises of someone calling me back which doesn't happen. My emails received the same responses of "sorry". I have this paper shade they put up for me as a temporary but I don't have my window treatment or any answers from Empire. I want my window treatment back and want it back repaired. I have been more than patient during this ordeal but now it has become more than ridiculous and I don't know what to do anymore. Phone calls and emails do no good. I would NEVER recommend this HORRIBLE place to anyone. WORST experience. My advice if you want window treatments is to stay away from Empire and go anywhere else. It is now Dec 1 2018 and still nothing from Empire. Not a reputable company.

I purchased lament flooring November 4, the installer put in the wrong color trim and threshold. I have had 5 install appointments to replace and no one has shown up or had the decency to call. I have lost money with taking off so many times in 1 month and have had it with Empire Today/Luna. Correna Russell, Melissa Dingus are two of the customer service reps who have tried to resolve but only gave 50% of service. I have had to call them multiple times, send emails to find out the status. And still nothing, no refund has been offered, no one has come to my home just broken unemotional apologies. I still have 2 sections of my house that need flooring updates, I rather go through someone else then try and match what I have.
This company needs to hire installers that know what they are doing, speak English to be able to handle a problem and get customer service training.

This is Marla Kinnaman. [protected]. I ordered blinds with you 4-6 weeks ago. I was called, by your staff, 1.5 weeks ago to let me know that they are ready for installation. At that time, an appointment was scheduled for November 28 between 9-11am. Since I scheduled so far in the future, customer service stated that the 9am slot would be available since no one else was scheduled on the same day. I was to receive an email or call today to confirm this appt. By 3 pm I had not heard anything yet so I called customer service. First I was told that there was no such order. Second after holding for 28 min I requested a supervisor Edgar. He was able to find my order and that November 28 was the day for installation. He told me that Graber blinds would be installing these. He gave me their phone number to call for confirmation. When I called. The recording said " this is Amy please leave a message " this did not sound like a place of business to me so I called in power back and spoke to a different customer service to let them know that this number may not be working. So they called themselves and got the same recording. So now by this time it's after 5 PM and I receive an email from Empire today stating that my installation tomorrow November 28 would be between the hours of 8 AM and 6 PM. This is not the time that my appointment was scheduled for. I will not be here after 11am. Please help

The floor was just put down and we noticed a tear in the vinyl. I called several times and it took forever to get a response. they finally came to the house after making me lose another days pay they were suppose to show up between 3 and 4 and got there at 8pm with his family in the car.
he took pictures and no one has gotten back to me. this is just one complaint. I have a list of complaints since I decided to go with empire

I purchased Vinyl floors for my upstairs in October of 2017 and finished paying for them in October of 2018 under a special deal. Soon after the install I noticed bumps in the flooring and they came back out and repaired. A month or so ago I noticed the same bumps in the floor and a space about 1/8 or smaller in between one of the boards in the same area. I called a month or so ago and they said they would contact be is a few days, in which they didn't. I called them again last week and they called and I explained my problem. They said they would come out and inspect but my installation warranty was expired and I would have to pay an additional $75.00 and pay for the repairs out of my own pocket! It would seem to me that a warranty on either installation or product would be longer than a year.

Started with over pricing, once they went down on the price, they installed next day. But to follow up on issues would take months. Still today I have called and recorded several phone extensions number and yet to get a call.
Or if they do call and I missed it and I return the call again, I go through weeks without anyone returning my call for my concern.

I have been dealing with unethical behavior with Empire since July 3, 2018 til present November 2, 2018. Three months and I still can not get my issue resolved.

I do not recommend Empire. Their customer service shouldn't be called customer service. I have notations after notations of my grievance.

I decided to write this compliant to see if there can be another way to express and/or someone higher then Chicago/Milwaukee Customer Service can actually resolve this. I am considering to write better business bureau.

I do have all notes written, though at this present moment of writing my grievance from my employment. This is sadness how I have to continuous express my hardship with Empire not correcting their issues.

I didn't finish my complaint above. After the installers did not show up and I never heard about my deposit, Empire called about 2 months later to reschedule my installation. Since I didn't want to lose my deposit (about $200) and we still needed new carpet, I stupidly agreed to another appointment. The installers arrived (amazing!) at 1030 am. They measured the areas and told me that the salesman had measured incorrectly and they did not have enough carpet. This is the final straw. I went on-line and cannot believe the amount of BAD reviews this company has. How can they still be in business? I plan to call the Better Business Bureau tomorrow. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

We initially had laminate floors and rugs installed in our home in September 2017. In June 2018, we had a water leak in the kitchen which affected the laminate in the galley kitchen. We called Empire to help with replacing the laminate. The salesman came out in June 2018, provided us with a new bid ($1, 300), stated the new laminate may be a slightly different color so he suggested that we also replace the entry hall laminate (we agreed) and scheduled installation for July 16, 2018. The installer, Eduardo, first pulled up and took the perfectly good laminate in the entry hall, which was not affected by the water leak. He then started on the kitchen but stated that the laminate Empire had previously installed was 9 mm thick and he had 8 mm thickness, so we would need to do the entire kitchen, dining room and office area all over again at the cost we had paid for in September 2017 ($3, 000). When we objected because the prior installation was less than a year old, he said we would have to contact Empire.
When we contact Empire, I got a complete run around. Some people said it could be done (I can look up the names of who I talked to), another person called and said they would give me $300 off the job, Joseph called to see what the problem was but when I called back Joseph no longer worked for the company. I finally reached Todd [protected]) in installation on August 23 and he was very nice and told me he would see what he could do about correcting this situation. Unfortunately, Todd failed to act. I have text messages from Todd on 8/23- thank you for the pictures, 8/31-sorry it's taking so long, hard to find materials, 9/11-still looking for materials, 9/19-coporate found the materials, just need to complete paperwork. I will notify you with ETA, 10/22-, an apology for not answering my 10/8, 16, 19 messages because he had a death in the family and would contact me on 10/24 - he never did.My complaints: in less than a year, Empire no longer carried any product that would fit with my 9-month-old flooring. I would need to do the entire job $3.000 job all over again. We could have used the perfectly good laminate that was removed from my entry hall and used that to go into the kitchen had the installer stopped for a moment to think about it. Empire does not stand by their products. In less than a year they no longer carried the product they sold and had no reasonable alternate. I have been strung along for 4 months with false expectations of having the floor repaired. I have tried another flooring company, but they do not carry Empires materials. So, here I am, with a floor that look s awful and there is no reasonable way to repair it and Empire is just full of false results. I believe they should have had materials to repair my floor or at least advised us that if anything went wrong they could not help us. I would NEVER recommend Empire to anyone I know. Now I am stuck and have no idea what to do to repair my kitchen galley floor.

I can call Empire back in September someone came out to give me a estimate. I knew exactly what I wanted so it didn't take very long set up appointments for October because I was having my house painted. October 6 Was my first schedule appointment for the LVT to be installed on the Saturday. No show no call. So I had to reschedule for that when they stated that someone would come out and do both the LVT and the laminate for the bathroom the following Saturday which was October 13. No-show but someone did call. So that following Monday I had to call the corporate office and spoke with Mrs. Lopez. We scheduled the LVT for the following week. Would someone came out didn't do a good job but I'm so tired of the back-and-forth and no one coming out I didn't press the issue. Spoke with Miss Lopez again and I have my final appointment for installation today October 24, which I took all four because I was told that they will do the bathroom and the carpet. But much to my surprise this morning I got a call saying that they couldn't do two installations in one day. So I got a call back later today to reschedule for the bathroom on November 1. Well I also got confirmation this morning for the carpet so I push option one to speak with someone to give a direct window on when the installer will be coming. They stated between two and 4 o'clock. For 30 rolls around and no installer. I give the office a call and they contact the installer he stated that he was running late and he could make it here at 7 o'clock this evening. 720 I get several calls from the installer in the office. Stating that the installer had hit some traffic and it would be 830 before he can come in that would be too late for him so can we reschedule. At this time I have wasted a whole day of waiting. I'm very stressed out . My sister had to take me to emergency because I feel lightheaded and dizzy my blood pressure was over the top. 180/100. This is not acceptable at all. I will be calling Mrs. Lopez back in the morning to see what can be done about this. Thank you, Patricia Tyson

My new carpet was installed 6 weeks ago on August 31st 2018. I like the carpet, but the installation efforts need attention. There are two seams in the hallway--one more unacceptable than the other. The tape used underneath continues to make a crackling noise under both seams, but the biggest concern is that the seam between the living room and the hallway has @ 2 inch indentation because there is no foam under the carpet seam!

Several weeks ago I called the warranty number to make an appointment. My call was returned and an appointment was scheduled for yesterday, 10/18; time of installers arrival to be determined that morning. I spoke with the scheduler about the problem, identified that the 8 lb. foam was missing from under the seam.

PROBLEM: Oct 18 was a bust! I called 5 times during that day to the "main number" and kept getting customer service, who would apologize and leave messages for the San Diego office (near me).

During those 5 calls to try to get information about a time window or what was happening, I spent a total of 77 minutes on hold, never getting anything more than a an apology and "I left a message" from each customer service representative. The last person I spoke with was "John" the Cust. Svc. Supervisor who also made calls to San Diego, leaving a message, because no one was answering. John promised to call me "first thing this morning" to follow up. He did not.

Today, Oct 19, I called again to the main number, again speaking only with a customer service representative who was still only able to leave a message for the scheduler.

So, I finally called my Sales Rep. Marc Chapman...wanting someone local to do something. He gave me the Vista, Ca. direct line and the Cust. Svc. Supervisor's name "Gilbert" and his extension. When I called Gilbert, I only got his voice mail, so I left a message. He did not return my call. I called a bit later and asked for him. When he answered, I explained all of the above and shared my frustration. He talked to the scheduler who said that the installer would be at my house between 2 & 3pm... three o'clock passed and I called Marc Chapman again. He said he only had the same numbers I did. I have not heard back from Marc, either.

It is now 4:35pm, Friday, Oct 19. I have spent two days calling and waiting for someone to fix a simple problem that would take only 10 minutes to rectify. NO ONE seems to be able to keep a promise or make a connection with the one person who is in charge or this process! The installer has yet to show up at my house.

What will it take to get this taken care of?! I have been patient, albeit frustrated, and polite to everyone I've spoken with. Everyone who has spoken with me has been polite and apologetic. Having to make apologies is NOT good customer service.
Please, please, please do something to finish the work correctly and let me get on with my life. (FYI: my house is for sale--which is why the new carpet was installed. Having noticeable flaws in my floor covering does not impress potential buyers.)

Empire's scheduling process is broken and the technicians either need better support and training and probably supervision. This is completely unsatisfactory.
How long will it take to finally get this simple problem taken care of?

Roxie Hart
3340 Orange Ave San Diego, 92104
[protected]@aol.com
[protected]

And why do I have to "log-in" with socials? Why can't I just submit my information about my problem?

I have spent almost $15000 to have laminate laid throughout my house. First, there was a huge problem with a discrepancy in the price once the installers got here. It ended up having to go through the national headquarters in order for Empire Today to agree to the price I was quoted and signed for to begin with. Now it's time for my bathrooms to get laid with tile that matches the laminate. First, the installers had to reschedule from last week to today. Then I was told they could just pay the new tile over the old tile. I went through several phone calls about this. When the installer arrived, he took one look at our batrooms and said no, that the tile would have to come up and because the tile was also the baseboards, he wasn't touching it and he left. He was supposed to call me back after hearing from his supervisor. Never received a phone call. I had to call him! Now your company is telling me that they don't want to do it. That they are not responsible for the drywall if they butcher the wall taking off the tile baseboard. And not only that but hung up with me without giving me a new dat Edie install when it should have been done today. My complaint is that Empire Today had the pictures showing the bathrooms. They had someone come and look at them and measure them before I even signed any paperwork, which I did, agreeing to have it done. Last week! This is hands down the most unprofessional company I have ever dealt it. I will be notifying the Better Business Bureau and I will let everyone know, who will ask for a recommendation, to not go with Empire. Your company has left me holding the bag for a second time on the same job that I have spent thousands of dollars on. I would hope that your company would step up and try to fix this problem but I am not counting on it. I have had nothing but problems and letdowns with Empire Today.

Have had 2 missed appointments to repair carpet that they intalled. I was called and said they were on their way but never showed. When i called at the end of the day I was told that they had no one to send even thought they were on their way earlier. Been over a month trying to get this crap repaired. I have spoken to the install manager and was told sorry, nothing they could do. Customer service Supervisor, sorry nothing they could do. They do not honor their warranties or care for their customers. Making an appointment 2 weeks in advance and then being told at the end of the day that they didnt have anyone to send AFTER being told they were on their way is unacceptable.

Laminate floor installed incorrectly. They made no room for expansion. Boards are popping up. Molding popped off. The glass on my fireplace cracked when the floor expanded. These problems have occurred for almost 2 years. They were not able to correct so now floor needs to ripped up and replaced. The floor I have now is discontinued. I have had to remove everything from my dining/living room for example China, glassware, etc to have them call me the morning of install TWICE to cancel. I have waited for 3 weeks to have install. Seeking other ways to take care of this problem since Empire can not seem to.

he representative told me that within 24 hours I would be contacted regarding the change of product. Roughly a week later on a Friday, I received a call to confirm my set up day for the installation, I mentioned that I wanted to change the product and had not heard back from anyone. They again told me that someone would contact me within 24 hours. That Monday, the week of the installation, I received another phone call to confirm the installation date. I confirmed again and indicated that I wanted to change my product for the kitchen. They again told me someone would contact me within 24 hours but that I was approaching the date of my installation quickly. Tuesday I received another phone call, again asking me to confirm the installation. On Wednesday, the day before the installation, is when I received the phone call regarding the change of my product. I was told it would be handled. Thursday morning, the day of the installation, at around 7am, I received a phone call indicating that my change order was not approved. I was understanding and asked that the dining room hardwood floors still be installed.

The guys that came to set up the floor and install it told me they would be back on Friday to install my kitchen. I told them that I could not do that because I had to go to work. They were told by the company that I approved Friday, they had to then call and let the company know that I did not want to have the floor installed on Friday. My sales representative called me and apologized for the error. Again, I was understanding, mistakes happen. He scheduled another floor product visit for Saturday afternoon from 3-5.

On Saturday I made it home minutes before my scheduled appointment. I received a phone call around 3 indicating that my sales representative was running late and would be there around 5:30-6:00. I said that it was ok but that I needed to leave around 6:00 because I had a prior commitment. 5:30 came and went, so I called the customer service number, the representative told me that the sales representative was no longer able to come to my house. I was fuming. I asked the representative if I had not called would anyone have told me that the appointment was cancelled, they told me no. Now I was not so understanding.

I asked to get my down payment back or at least to give me half of it back because of the constant back and forth. They refused. I asked if there was anything the supervisor could do and she told me no that she would put it on another floor if I wanted. All I wanted was at least half the deposit back, at this point it was a waste of time. They told me that my representative would get in touch with me to schedule a time.

On Monday I received a call from Empire, asking me to confirm another installation for a day that I never asked for. I had at least hoped it was my sales representative, but it wasn't. The lady tried pushing an installation date for that week, even after I told her I couldn't because of work. On Tuesday another phone call about my sales appointment. My sales associate finally called me on Thursday. Never apologizing for missing the appointment. I told him I wanted to cancel my order. A week later another phone call about my scheduled appointment. That Saturday a phone call AGAIN from empire for the flooring appointment and then later an call from a sales associate.

As you can see, I overall did not have a great experience with Empire. No one mentioned that the dining room floors would be given a trim on top of my trim. I actually hate the fact that there was such a gap between the floor and the trim that they just put another trim over it to hide it. Wish someone would have told me that.

April 23rd 2018 I got an estimate for carpet installation from Empire Carpet. Installation date was scheduled for September 4th today after Labor Day. Is the Saturday prior to Labor Day it was brought to my attention that the carpet could not be installed on the following Tuesday due to overbooking. I was told that the carpet could be installed the following Tuesday which was bad for me because I had to return to work. I rescheduled another installation date for October 11th. The day before I received the email confirmation that the carpet will be installed the next day. I called Empire around 7 in the morning on October 11th I was told if I did not receive a call from the installers by 10:30 to give them a call back. I call back at 10:30 and that's when I was told that my carpet will not be install that day due to the installers having to attend to a family matter I was also told there was not a substitute crew that could install my carpet and that I would have to wait until the following Tuesday to have my carpet install. I have taken off from work on two occasions two weeks for carpet installation that has not happened. In my personal opinion this is very unprofessional and the lines of communication needs to be corrected. A very dissatisfied customer.