Empire Today review: don't use them 94

Thank you for bringing your experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at webcustomerservice@empiretoday.com so that we may be able to assist. You can also visit our online customer center at http://www.empiretoday.com/Customer-Service.

Sincerely,
Consumer Advocate Team
Empire Today, LLC

Oh BEA I agree ... that this happened

but for him to call your husband on the phone ... what a pair of balls on this kid!

talkin' about gas... YOU ARE talkin' about gas, gas, gas, are you insane yes it took him gas to get to the house is that ### going to walk...gas I would have said "A man!" "You are wasting my fookin' time bro" and hung up! These TYPE of ### will never learn! Too bad you live in Florida...

I also want to say thanks for sharing your experiences on here about this company. I've also called this company and asked them some questions although I never booked the appointment. I just bought a home and my relator had connection to a contractor who had access to wholesale carpets. We wanted carpet to cover 300 sq ft and the estimate the contractor provided was $900 to $1, 200 depending on the type of carpet we chose. I haven't done any research so that number automatically seemed high. I was going to call Empire Today and get the 60% off, but I am so glad I stumbled upon this website. I am 100% not going to call them. I might just use the referred contractor.

I had Empire Today install laminate flooring and carpets which they did and it came out nice. The problem is the sales guy who came I think was drunk and measured wrong, I did smell alcohol on his breath when he was doing the measurements. Turns out he measured wrong and they didn't bring the correct amount of materials. so the job took two days.

Thats not what im complaining about though, when they were banging in the floors the tenant below me had a piece of speckle from a nail head fall into her babies crib. Then there was a hair line fracture in the ceiling, small crap at the least nothing major. I called the salesman to let him know and see if he could get someone here to throw some Spackle, of course i got no response. I called the 800 number and explained the situation and they said they are not liable, and the first rep flat out hung up on me. I wasn't even being rude at all. I called back immediately NOW FUMING and demanding a manager. Manager gets on and I explain the situation and she said they will take care of it. You figure you have to pay these ### in cash they would do the right thing, Im not asking them to replace the entire ceiling for these people, literally a 15 minute Spackle job.

I get a call today from some extremely rude woman from the corporate offices that wouldnt let me finish my sentences and I litterally had to stop her in her tracks and say "HEY I AM THE CUSTOMER LET ME TALK"
She also said they don't send anyone to fix repairs like this so now I have to find a outside contractor and pay out of my own pocket then fax this rude lady the bill and hope i get reimbursed. Awful customer service, save yourself the trouble and get a private contractor for your floors or carpet that has a good name in your area.

Boy - what a scam this company is! Purchased the "highest quality" of berber carpeting for our home. Paid over $4000 for 4 rooms and a hallway. The people that installed it were probably illegal immigrants. Now 16 months later, I call to tell them how unhappy I am with the carpet (huge pulls, snags, thresholds coming up, etc.). Oh, we will send out an "independent" carpet inspector. Yea, he was in their back pocket too. Said that my dog caused all the problems. We had to call them to get a copy of the report and their findings. Said they would send someone out as a "courtesy" to fix the thresholds. This was an independent company and they were appalled at the condition of the carpet and said it was NOT my dog but crappy workmanship. DON'T EVER BUY FROM EMPIRE AND TELL ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS. THIS COMPANY IS A RIP-OFF!

Probably ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS? What a RACIST comment!

You actually paid $4, 000 for carpet; you could have gotten HARDWOOD!

What an IDIOT!

Thank you for bringing your experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at webcustomerservice@empiretoday.com so that we may be able to assist. You can also visit our online customer center at http://www.empiretoday.com/Customer-Service.

Sincerely,
Consumer Advocate Team
Empire Today, LLC

Here's the inside scoop on "Empire Today". When you call into the 1800 number you reach some hispanic person getting paid $8.50 just to take sit there and take your call; the vast majority of these people know nothing about there products, hell the maj of them dont know how to transfer a call lol! Anyway once you set up a "Free" appt the market manager of your market will assign you a sales rep to meet with you. While waiting dont expect empire or the sales rep to call you prior to your appt. Once the sales rep comes to your house he probably already has a figure in his mind he's gonna charge you!* (These people are employeed by empire but they have nobody to report to but the Market manager so basically if they spit on you and curse you out chances are they will still work for empire (they get paid 4% of the sale price too).
And the price is probably gonna be 20% higher than your other quotes! Dont buy into them giving you discounts, because they can only reach a maximum of $350 & thats on bath liners lol. If you do place a order plz cxnl it in 3 days if not you are stuck lol. Oh and definitly find out if the product is gonna be a special order; if so if you dont cxnl in 3days you will lose your deposit another way Empire gets peoples money; not letting customers know there ordering a special order product. Now from my experiences with Empire if I were in the market for carpet knowing what they do, I would never ever buy or recommend empire today. I want to touch base on the callcenter you call into; the maj of these people are getting paid $8.50 to anywhere to $13.00 a hour to sit in the call center and do anything and everything for a customer to get there business or in empire's most cases try to earn back a angry cust's business. I have worked with a lot of empire's customers and when I speak to them I would say 60-65% of them have a problem or issue with the product they purchased. I recently talked to a guy who had a "nice" sales rep come to his home, he bought the flooring and the install was great! Well he said the same rep called him back and offered to finish the cust's undone rooms for $1, 000! The cust accepted and gave the rep the money & to this day he has never heard back from the guy. The installers are not goin to speak english nor do they care how the job looks at the end ( hell there not like the sales rep's there private contractors, empire finds the cheapest install crew and sends them to your house so when they break your vase or kick your cat they can say or we will take care of it & nothing happens becuase jose doesnt speak english! Now if still do purchase from this beast expect phone calls all year long they will cb 6 months prob 9 months, 12 months, and then 16 months after you purchase to "try" to give you $100 of your next purchase which will be $3, 000 lol. If I were you I would go to a local company, hey it may take longer but its well worth the wait. This company simply does not care for its employees only its customers which they will do anything and everything to keep your business that even means losing money just so you dont bad mout them! Stear cleer I am tired of innocent people getting ripped of by the people! Plz dont spend your hard earned money with scammers!

Oh and and another IMPORTANT piece of advice: If you read this and still choose to get a quote DO NOT! I REPEAT DO NOT TAKE THERE OFFERS! KNOW WHY? Because empire will call you back to see how everything went and when they call you back they do have leway with there pricing DO NOT BUDGE ASK FOR THE LOWEST PRICE POSSIBLE. (IF YOU WERE WONDERING ABOUT THIS AGENT THERE GETTING PAID $10.00 A HOUR TO FOLLOW UP ON APPTS AND THEY GET PAID A % OF YOUR QUOTE SO MAKE THEM GIVE YOU THE LOWEST PRICE POSSIBLE!

TY FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO READ THE TRUTH HOPE THIS HELPS EVERYBODY!

This customer is way off base. I have purchased carpet from Empire and have had a wonderful experience both times. If you check the home store prices they do do include all the add-ons and take 4-6 weeks to install.

Im not a customer im a former employee who has seen heard and done these things stated above!
You got lucky and had a good experience, but if you look at all the reviews the bad out weigh the good.
Tell empire to stop paying people to rebuttle on these sites -__-

We purchased carpet from Empire Today about 2 years ago for a rental house we own. The carpet was defective. They gave us a reduced price for the carpet. The installer was excellant and you could not see the seams in the berber carpet. Because of this we told the salesmen that we purchased carpet of our house. IT WAS DEFECTIVE!

This is the company that says they will put your carpet in the next day. It took a couple of months to get them to return our calls. The salesman made an appointment to look at the carpet and never showed up of called or returned our calls.

We called the number on their ads and made arrangements to replaced the carpet.

They replaced it on Nov. 5, 2017 and guess what? That carpet WAS DEFECTIVE! Also, the initial installer no longer worked for them. the new one did an awful job on the seams. The area on each side of the seam is indented. The latest installer said it was because they used too much when they did the seam.

We then picked out another carpet and they wouldn't put it in till Nov. 26! We said we didn't want to wait till then and with the experience we'd had we wanted them to take out the carpet and return our purchase price - they refused. Because of all the problems we'd had, they said they would sent their best installer.

They called the morning of the 26th and said theyweren't sure which carpet we had ordered so they were going to sent someone out with samples so we could show them the correct one. The samples DID NOT CONTAIN THE ONE I ORDERED! Then they sent the salesman out with samples but by that time it was too late for them to put it in.

This moning they sent the installer who did terrible job and I refused to let him start. We called and they sent a new installer.

I asked him to roll out the carpet outside so I could check it. It was lighter than the one I ordered. Also, they sent two rolls and they WEREN'T THE SAME COLOR. They still refuse to return our purchase price and take out the carpet and was told they would have to order the carpet from the manufacturer and it wouldn't be here till.

We had 2 showers done 8000 dollars. The installer fell through my ceiling during installation. Then 4 months later it was leaking water through my ceiling a repair person came out said it was a crappy job and would be replaced. Did not hear from them for 3 months and only when we called them back to see what was going they came and measured for a new shower pan came back 1 month later with the wrong one it has now been 5 more months without a shower and still have not heard from them. I will report this to the BBB and I will not continue to pay for this crappy job.

Thank you for bringing your carpet experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at webcustomerservice@empiretoday.com so that we may be able to assist. You can also visit our online customer center at http://www.empiretoday.com/Customer-Service.

Sincerely,
Consumer Advocate Team
Empire Today, LLC

This person is right in some manner, my husband is a former installer for empire. But, the whole thing with the person answering the phone being a hispanic who gets paid $8 or so per hour is totally racist and bs. Tell your story and make your complaints, but don't refer to the employees in a such a derogatory way, like being a hispanic means you'll work for nothing and that they know nothing. Remember the employees don't own Empire, they're just trying to work and get paid to pay their bills and live, like the rest of us.

That gentleman with the windows problems paid 916.00 per window. As a former sales person for Empire Today, this deal is what is called in the trade a lay down. The customer just laid down and took it. The sales person could go as low as around 650.00 per window and even that is too high. It was probably an Alside brand window that can be purchased and installed by a regular contractor for around $ 260.00 including the cost of the window and the installation.

I scheduled an appointment for quotes for laminate flooring and window treatment products and installation for Monday evening at 7 pm March 1. When I originally scheduled the appointment, I told the company representative that we cannot meet him at the job site since we are set to close on March 10 and currently do not have title or access to the property. He insisted on meeting us at the new location so I arranged for the realtor to meet us there also so we could get access. One half hour before the scheduled appointment, I received a telephone call asking me where i was because the representative was at the new address but no one was there. I reminded him the appointment was set for 7 p.m and we had an e-mail confirmation showing the 7 pm. time. A few minutes later as I was driving to the property, he called back asking if we were currently the property owners or just renters. Again, I told him we were going to close on March 10 so we were not yet the record title holders. At this point, he said they could not give us an estimate since we would have to sign a contract as owners and we were not yet the property owners. I told them they knew that from day 1 when I first scheduled the appointment and my wife and rearranged our evening and inconvenienced the realtor. He said he would wait for us at the property. When we arrived there just before 7 pm., we discovered the estimator had left. I called Empire Today and was told they would be back after March 10. I told them to forget the estimate and I will see them in court for reimbursement of my time and travel expenses.

Thank you for bringing your sales experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our customer service team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at [protected] so we can assist you.

Thank you for bringing your shower product experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our customer service team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at [protected] so we can assist you.

Sincerely,
Consumer Advocate Team
Empire Today, LLC

First of all, out of 4 estimates, Empire Today's was the highest initially, even with a promotional offer and other discounts. When I told the sales rep that, suddenly he was able to knock off about 1/4 of the cost...like magic. There were also several things we discussed for which he gave me inaccurate/incomplete information. When I told him I wanted nylon, not PET (polyester), he said nylon was not a soft material. In fact, he had one set of nylon samples that he showed which were not very soft and friendly to the touch. He led me to believe that was the way all nylon was which I later discovered was erroneous...in fact, I have since selected a nylon carpet that is very soft made of Anso nylon. On the hardwood selection, he tried to steer my toward engineered hardwood. I was skeptical of that because the flooring I have now is that and I have been told that it cannot be screened again to refinish it. When I asked him about that, he told me that the engineered flooring could be screened just like the regular hardwood flooring. I researched that and found that is not true. It can be screened only 1-3 times in its lifetime... which was not what I wanted. Besides that, it was as expensive, if not more, than the oak flooring, according to his estimate. Finally, he told me that I would never be able to match the hardwood to some I already have in the house. That is not true either. The company I selected has guaranteed a perfect match to the existing hardwood. Finally, when I decided not to go with Empire Today, they offered me another $600 off the already "knocked down" estimate he had given me or the possibility of special ordering the nylon carpet I wanted in the first place. The sales rep. never offered me that option during the appointment. They also asked if I would like the salesperson to contact me to discuss that further and I said I would entertain that but he never did contact me. I guess he decided that I was too difficult of a customer and he wasn't going to get a big enough commission off my transaction since the price was going to have to come down too much to get my business. Never mind that he was way too high to begin with for the product he was trying to sign me up for.

I fell for the add of 60%off carpet. Being naive we decided to go with Empire spending $3500. Then the lies began. They were not able to provide me with the specs on the carpet, found out it was polyester not nylon. They tried to string me along for the 3 days so that I would not be able to cancel. Installed 2 rooms and brought the wrong color for the third. Continued to get run around. Carpet at Lowes and Home Depot much better quality 1/2 the price. I had them take up the carpet as I cancelled in the 3 day period. To do this you have to send copy of paper to illinois. Not one person gave a crap after I signed the contract. RUN FROM THIS COMPANY.

Also when they did come and rip out there carpet, the contractor said that they had put down a 6 pound pad not the 8 that we had paid for.

Should have listened to the countless negative reviews all over the internet. Spend some time and research before you make a mistake that you will be paying for over months and living with for years.

Thank you for bringing your carpet experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our customer service team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at [protected] so we can assist you.

I canceled my order only hours after the sales person left my home. I was told I would hear from someone in 1-3 business days to handle the credit. Although I would expect any reputable business to issue an immediate credit, I said I would wait. Unfortunately, no one contacted me and they still processed my deposit fee.

This business practice is exactly what I was concerned about and why I canceled. I read about other horror stories online and was shocked ET somehow managed an A+ with the BBB. It showed they had no complaints, which I think is completely false and ET is manipulating the BBB. There is no way they have zero complaints when I can find scores online.

After 5 business days passed, I called again and they said I'll receive a call in another 1-3! That is ridiculous. I filed a complaint with the BBB--so let's see what happens to their spotless record.

Empire Today is a very crooked company. Their used car sales tactics in my home also lead me to believe I was working with a shady operation. Do NOT do business with them!

Thank you for bringing your sales experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. We are dedicated to service and satisfaction; please contact us at [protected] to assist you with the deposit refund.

Empire issued the credit. I also appreciate that they read the complaints on this site, as you know your frustrations may be resolved. It would be nice if other companies did the same thing and showed they care. Knowing Empire tracks this site, I would consider them in the future as I'd have a sense that issues would be resolved. Thank you.

From the horrible rude sales guys to the credit damage I'm STILL contending with, Empire Today has been a nightmare; start to finish! The flooring is shoddy. The installation took two tries. Empire, later could not match the flooring... "we're all out of that color." They were paid IN FULL and ON TIME, but still collaborated with their finance company, G E Money Bank to extort an additional $680 from me. It took a three way phone call with my lawyer, myself and some customer service -sshole in India to get G E Money Bank to admit that they were NOT owed the $680. But, the amount is still showing up on my credit report. And, adding insult to injury, Empire Today is reporting to credit agencies that the full amount for the flooring and installation is unpaid, even though I have their cashed check in hand from my bank! What a horrible experience. I'd like to rip out every square inch of their lousy laminate and ship it to their stupid Credit Manager. I may still do just THAT!

Okay, I have a 2, 500 square foot home. Kitchen and baths are tile. Want laminate downstairs and carpet upstairs.

Price $ 21, 000.00 but with the great discount it was $ 18, 400. HELLLLOOOOO!

These people are totally crazy. Good bye Empire. They should not get air time, saying buy 2 rooms and get the rest free. They are nuts.

I had been living in NY and owned several rental properties, so I had purchased carpeting many times, but when I moved to Virginia and built a home for myself, I didn't know any local Carpet companies so I figured I would give Empire a try, having seen thier ads many times. Since I had built the house Iknew the size of the rooms and how much carpet it would take, including waste...but of course they have to measure for themsleves, and whenhe did, the saleman came up with 10 more yd than I had figured..Itold him of the discrepency, and asked how he arrived at that number.. and he showed me his "layout", which was the same as mine, and then said they always automatically add 20% for "waste". .LOL i laughed and told him to get out.He siad, wait, he might be abl to better on the price, and I said no thanks...if youare going to try to rip me off tostart with, I don;t want to even get involved with doing business with you..so really ..GET OUT...and found a reputable local company whose price for the carpet was actually a dollar or 2 more per sq yd, but on 20% less carpet, so still alot cheaper.

ps there shold nev rbe an "automatic" amount added for waste.. the wast es what it is..ie..if you have a 9x11 room..which is 11 sq yds, you will need to by, and pay for a 9 x 1 2 ( 12 sq yds) piece of carpet ecasu eit come sin 12' with, and a 9'x1' pice(1 sq yd) will be left over (waste)..butthat is less than 10% which is more typical

Thank you for bringing your sales experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. We are dedicated to service and satisfaction; please contact us at [protected] to assist with your concerns.

Had carpet installed in the basement since we had used Empire previously. They installed the carpet in a timely fashion and it looked great. When it rained the problems started. The basement had a wet spot at the door where the carpet meets the door. The reason: when Empire installed the carpet, they took out the threshold/kickplate, laid the carpet where the threshold would be, and then placed the threshold back in its place without securing it back correctly. The kickplate was angled upward and when it rains, the water seeps into the bottom of the door. A contractor came out to replace my door because the bottoms of the wooden doorbuck have water damage. He said whoever installed this kickplate did not secure it correctly and did not reseal it. The "whoever" is Empire Today's installers. So I gave Empire Today a call and they listened to my story and the installation guy said "If there is a kickplate there, ..." when I had just explained the kickplate issue. This tells me that he is telling me that I am lying. I mean why would I lie about a kickplate. That got me livid and they wouldn't even send someone out to even look at the situation. His next response was: If I want something done, I will have to pay for any installation and special order of carpeting. So basically, he wants me to PAY for their faulty and negligent installation. Their customer service is terrible. In addition, I called them about this on a Wednesday morning and received a reference number. They didn't return my call until the following Tuesday afternoon!

Thank you for bringing your experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience, and our team would like to work with you to explore a resolution. Please contact us at webcustomerservice@empiretoday.com so that we may be able to assist. You can also visit our online customer center at http://www.empiretoday.com/Customer-Service.

Sincerely,
Consumer Advocate Team
Empire Today, LLC

Thank you for bringing your experience to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you. We are dedicated to service and satisfaction; please contact us at [protected] to assist you.

To Dawniette - If you read the post, you'll notice that the installers removed the kickplate and since it was never secured correctly when they put it back the water/rain comes into the basement. This happens because the kickplate is angled up and catches the rain. If it was angled down like it should be, the rain would not enter the bottom of the door.

To "Company Response" - I called the toll-free number, gave Empire Today my contact information and was told your corporate office would respond to me by September 7th. No one has called me or emailed as of yet.

I had done about $50, 000 work of electrical work at an Empire Today store. Among other things we were replacing wire stolen by a previous contractor (which seemed odd but I now understand). Empire Today was a very slow payer because the president held on to the invoices, at least according to the manager. I was doing a low voltage lighting job for the store when I ran out of money. I asked for the money owed me so I could finish the job. The manager went through the roof and demanded I finish in two weeks. I couldn't since I had no money for materials. He then demanded an accounting of all materials and labor. He had never asked for this before, my foreman had moved to Denver taking the paper work with him and lost it in the move. I couldn't reconstruct the material list. I finally hired an attorney who couldn't get past the smokescreen of lies the manager put up. I never got paid and was baffled by this personality change until a psychiatrist friend of mine told me the manager's behavior was classic sociopath. She predicted all future moves he would make.

My entire explanation didn't print but the upshot was I was cheated out of $6500. Do not work for this company.

It is my understanding that there have been conversations regarding your concerns. Based on the information in your post, I believe its best that you speak with a member of our management team. If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me at mmichalek@empiretoday.com or contact me via phone at [protected] ext. 5560. Marlo Michalek – Vice President of Marketing Communications.

After my experience with Robert Hearlson I am reluctant to expose myself to that kind of treatment again. I expect the same kind of treatment from anything called Empire Today.

Mr Hearlson is a fast talker and knew I am honest. He was thrilled with our work and constantly praised our results and speed. I don't understand his behavior but there is definitely something very wrong with him.

I'll think about it and decide what to do. I sure could use that money. I ended up with lots of credit problems after I was stiffed.

Kelly

that stupid old empire guy has no idea how bad his [censor] [censor] company is

I have been doing floors for 30years and NEVER had anything like that happen or had anyone call about something like that . I think you need to look at the house your living in and start doing the repairs needed around the place . And why is it always a babys room or my mother in-law in her wheelchair . Not that it couldn't have happen but it wouldn't be due to the flooring being installed up stairs but more with the age of the house or disrepair of the ceiling . There should be 6x12s between your floor and there ceiling, So tell me JUST HOW LONG WERE THE NAILS...lol

Salesman Sal was great, very pleasant and easy going.

Installers were also very pleaseant however I was not satisfied with the quality of work done.

1. Not enough grout was used on the ceramic tile that was installed in my kitchen, adhesive in some spots are visible. Also in some spots there were apparently air pockets made when applying.. now that it's dried there are small holes visible. The 1/4 round molding used in front of the slider door was not installed properly, the nails used apparently struck either the tile or frame of the door so they bent from underneath, they were not flush to the surface leaving the heads of these nails exposed by 1/2 inch. Ouch! my husband and I removed it! Had to file down the grout in the corners so that we could eventually get the baseboards to lay properly.

2. The carpet installed in the basement and spare bedroom could have been pulled tighter... yes the installation team left me the tech service bulletin (carpet seams), however I'm sure that this is a different issue. I have had many a carpet installed and have had no previous problems with seams or stretching in the past.

3. The laminate flooring installed in the basement (Den). When it was first installed they left with masking tape holding down the carpet strip while the glue was adhereing/drying. the following day when the gentleman was removing it was noticed it didn't take very well. He left and returned with "liquid nails" appears to have done the job, however if the strip is suppose to be "flush" with the flow, then his efforts were not very successful.

Products are beautiful and I'm very satisfied with them. However, I am not at all satisfied with the quality of workmanship or Customer Support.

Upon entering into my agreement with Empire Today the job was scheduled within 2 weeks which was sufficient. They refused to do any work until they physically "saw" the money order! what was up with that I'll never know, but was very inconvenient and morally wrong, doesn't provide the homeowner any leverage for when they are dis-satisfied. Yes, I would have held back the final payment on this job!

These guys worked during the evenings... not good, last think I wanted to do was be on call for them during my office hours only to find out they would be working from 7-9 p.m. I believe had they not been so rushed to get the job done (total installation approx 6 hours over a two day period) the quality of workmanship would have been much better.

I contacted my sales rep Sal as soon as possible upon cleaning the tile floor as instructed only to notice the problem described above, then we proceeded to give all the rooms a visual and noticed the other issue also noted above. I didn't get a return call from Sal within a 24hr period. We left him another unsatisfied voice mail message and also placed a call with the installation office. We're now told to expect a call within 1-3 business days. Huh!... funny Empire staff wanted their money within the hour to do the job and yet can't be bothered with a prompt follow up call to address my issues! I've been without the use of stove and refrigerator for over a week now.. again not good! I have children and it gets expensive real fast to having to "go out to dinner" every night.