Empire Today - Chicago

We called Empire for them to give estimates for 3 rooms of carpet. The salesman called and didn't want to drive out to our house unless we guaranteed we would buy from them, saying something like, "Just tell me what the other offers you have and I'll beat their price." I wasn't going to guarantee I would buy from them without seeing what the quality of their carpet so I told him don't bother coming and bought from someone else.

Did not hire them, they sent a salesman who clearly knows nothing about carpet or construction and the price was high.

We needed new carpet installed for both of our bedrooms in our condo. First, we had Luna come out to provide us with an estimate. Their initial estimate was around $1900, which we felt was very high. Empire came out and learned we had Luna out and the salesman said his manager would beat any price Luna gave us. Derek, our salesperson, was extremely professional and knowledgeable. He beat Luna's quote right off the bat (without knowing what they quoted me), which made me feel like I was receiving an honest and fair (to both myself and Empire) price. I selected a carpet while my wife wasn't home and she had some reservations about my pick after I had already decided. Derek had stopped by in the morning to bring over samples and measure, but he offered to come by later in the day to show my wife the carpet as well. He lived up to his promise and came by our place after 9 PM (was traveling from northern suburbs) to show my wife the options. I was really impressed with him seeing the process through. Empire came the next day to install and did a great job. The installers were extremely professional and friendly and seemed to be very efficient. I wouldn't hesitate to use Empire again for any of our needs.

Did not use the company. Too expensive

Sale and Installation went excellent. My choice of carpeting is debatable. #1. Tim Schuckford, our sales rep totally restored my faith in purchasing carpeting from Empire. In the past I had experienced high pressure, rude sales tactics which almost prevented me from calling Empire. The only reason I gave it another chance was because of their claim of quick installation. Am I glad I did. Mr. Schuckford was professional, polite and none of the high pressure I was prepared for. I received a fair price after having checked prices at other local stores. #2. My carpeting was installed 18 hours after the sale. The installers called as promised and where punctual. The Installers where polite, fast (2 hours) and obviously professional - the installation looks beautiful. They even vacuumed the carpet before leaving. I couldn't have asked for anything better. #3. WORD OF ADVICE: My only concern is my own choice in carpeting. I wanted something very tight, low pile and somewhat multi-colored to minimize showing any dirt/stains or vacuum tracks. Multi-colored was not available so I chose a low pile with somewhat of a pattern, in what I thought was a very dark tan or light brown in color. Once installed, the color is MUCH MUCH lighter than I expected and it is nowhere near as tight as I hoped. It is more like a plush that shows vacuum tracks that I didn't anticipate. At the moment it looks nice, but I'm not sure how practical this carpet will be over time. Word of advice. If at all possible do not chose your color from the 2and quot;x2and quot; color swatch. In my case the larger, cover swatch on top was in an almost white color, so running my hand over it did not make it obvious that it would show various shades depending on the vacuum tracks. It never occurred to me that it would be an issue with this carpeting. All in all this was an EXCELLENT experience, and speaks well for Empire. The concerns that I do have are totally on my own shoulders not Empire. I will definitely purchase my future flooring needs from Empire - which should be in the not too distant future.

See above Outstanding service and price.

Great experience. Great price and perfect next day installation. Better pricing than the competitors and service was impeccable. They actually did next day.

The installers were very professional and courteous. I had problem with the salesman. He didn't listen to what I wanted. Their price was good. I wouldn't use them again in the future.

They were more expensive than I thought and they did not have a big selection that I could choose from.

I was not too pleased with their sales tactics. They are kind of pushy. They have these pressure things like if you don’t go with them in the first meetings they would charge you a higher price. If you hurry and sign with us now you could save nearly $400 to $500 type deal. Unless I go through Angies List and do my home work I do not take a decision. So our meeting did not go very well. I saw their commercial and just happened to call them. They quoted me $1400. I like their products. The guy was on time. He had a lot of samples to choose from. What I don’t like is ones they go they will not leave their stuff back. They want you to make up your mind. If you go with Home Depot you can check them out and bring them home have them for a couple of days and see them in all the lights. I would not get another bid from them unless I read in the papers that they changed the way they do business.

I was really pleased with them. They came when they said they were going to come. They installed the carpeting quickly. We had a minor issue a day or two after with the carpet strips. It was a little high and we could hear our footsteps when we walked on them. They came out the next day and tacked them down a little more so that they were more leveled with the carpet. We are very satisfied with them. They were all business minded and did their job. It was all very good. I am not sure if the price was good because we didn't check with too many people.

Their price was good. They installed the carpets on time. They moved furniture’s, which was above and beyond what they did. I would use them in the future.

They replaced carpeting in the basement. Unfortunately, they used an adhesive, which didn’t stick the carpet, but, the entire house carpeting was fine. I will continue to use their services in future.

The rep was very poliet and professional but I will not be using them because I feel the qoute I received was very high.

They were absolutely wonderful. I did it online and didn't go to the store. Their little jingle about call today and get it tomorrow is true. The ease of the interaction stood out to me. The guy that came out had very nice samples. I chose my color and style and even got a discount for having it the next day instead of some time in the future. It was nice. They were very professional. They had surveys to fill out right after the guy came and they called the following evening to make sure I was still satisfied with it. I discovered one small spot that needed fixing and they came out today to fix it. I would use them again.

They were not responsible or accountable for their mistakes. We had some issues with the installation and the time of the installation. There were things that were promised that was not done. They did not finish the project on the promised date. I was so disappointed to the point that I would have canceled the entire order. Their customer service representative was okay, but not their salesman.

The salesperson was very nice and did not pressure us for the sale. He helped us pick out the right carpet for our needs and didn’t try to upsell anything. After inquiring where we were getting other bids he provided us his best possible rate but asked to let him know if we found better or we could get our deposit back for any reason should we decide to cancel. After obtaining another quote I felt assured that his was the best price for this particular job. The installation went well and the crew was very nice. They tore everything out and cleaned up prior to laying down the pad. All furniture was moved and put back almost exactly in place. Everything looks to be holding up although I am a little worried about the seam they had to create in the master bedroom because of the large space. If it come undone I’ll just have them come back out but hope it doesn’t come to that. Overall it’s the right value for the money.

Empire hired contractors who installed my carpet. I witnessed them damage my walls, door and floor trim, to three rooms. They also brought the carpet, inside my house, through my downstairs window, without my knowing or permission. I took pictures of all the damages after the contractor installers left, without leaving any paperwork of the job completed. I made numerous attempts to contact management to resolve the issues. It took over three weeks to speak to someone, who I think was a supervisor. He wanted to give a settlement and did not even see the pictures that were sent? I would never refer this company nor will I ever use any services from them again.

The scheduling process was very easy and I was able to schedule a visit the exact day I wanted. The salesman was on time. It went downhill from there. He had a very limited selection of the style we wanted, frieze, and he didn't tell us anything about them. We had to ask ourselves about material and stain resistance. But we picked out one we thought we might like. He measured the room and told us the price was normally $4300! The room is 345 sq. ft. He said that with their 60% off sale it would be $2000. I couldn't help but scoff at him because we had already done some research and had another quote from Mr. Carpet Shop at Home for $1300 for a similar carpet. I know we can’t say for certain that the carpets should have cost the same because they weren’t the same manufacturer, but we knew that price was outrageous because we had priced out several manufacturer prices at Home Depot and Lowes for similar frieze carpets made of nylon and polyester. I showed him the quote we had from Mr. Carpet Shop at Home and he offered to match the price. My fiancé and I didn't like this carpet as much as the other one, so we declined. Then he dropped the price to $1200. We still weren't swayed. Finally he dropped to $1095 and began telling us how he just wanted to keep his crews working in this bad economy and that he'll get a bonus at the end of the year if he can keep them lined up with jobs. He made us feel guilty. It was hard to say no considering how much he dropped the price, but it also made us wonder what the true cost and quality of the carpet was if he was willing to go so low. We declined. I have no doubt that Empire has quality carpet and can do a good job installing, but the tactics of this salesman were really off-putting for us. We aren't hagglers. We prefer honest, upfront pricing, but this would have been a bargain hunters dream.

Aside from dealing with a not very professional sales man and having the kitchen flooring installers mess up on timing, it went okay. Both the carpet installers and the flooring guys did escellent work. The carpet guys were there when they said they would be and were out of the house about 2 hours later. The kitchen guys would have been there first thing if they had thought to use my husband's cell #. As they got no answer on the home phone because out power was out, they moved on to their next job even though they did have an alternate # to use. This kept them installing the kitchen floor until 10 PM. It does look great though!

At first we weren't too pleased because the salesman never showed up for the first appointment and never called. After an hour we called Empire's office. They called the salesman's cell phone and he claimed that he had indeed called us to reschedule but no one was home, which was impossible because we had both been waiting within earshot of the phone the entire time. We nearly cancelled then and there but the manager prevailed upon us to set another appointment for the following evening with a different person who was described as a top salesman and sales trainer. The second salesman arrived on time and was very professional. He showed us samples and wrote an estimate. We happened to have a sample floorboard from Luna, who we were considering as well, and the salesman immediately knocked $700 off his estimate, saying he was allowed to do that because we had a bid in hand from a competitor, but we had to decide immediately. We took it, mainly because side-by-side Empire's sample made Luna's look very fake, though we certainly didn't mind the price break. The following Saturday a two-man crew arrived on time and moved all heavy furniture out of the way. Empire does not charge for moving furniture, which Luna does. The carpet removal and floor installation seemed to go very smoothly and professionally, although they originally said it would take about four hours and it actually took over seven hours. By the end the two workers were clearly getting anxious to be finished and seemed to be rushing and cutting corners. We had to watch them carefully and point out a couple of sub-par items, which we made them correct. This seemed to annoy them, which I didn't appreciate and which is why they did not get an A for professionalism. (That and the missed appointment.) In the end, though, the crew did an excellent job and we are very pleased with both the work and the product.

The salesman didn't even want to come out unless we made a commitment to buy from them. He wanted us to get other estimates and then call him and he would "beat their price". I'm not willing to play that game. Give me your best price. If I want it, I'll take it. If I don't, then I won't. We finally called and told them not to even bother coming. We were buying carpet from someone else.

The gentelman that showed up was nice enough. He was prompt, and friendly. After he measured the areas, gave a quote (took him three tries to get the right price) which was scribbled on a piece of paper. Never gave a format estimate. I had to get a piece of paper and copy down the info myself ... Had asked for a quote for flooring for a hallway and small bath. Was interested in ceramic, but he only showed laminate. The "catch" of the promotion is hallways, stairs, bathrooms, and closets are not included, nor is the installation. So, by the time we priced everything out, the only thing "free" was two small bedrooms.

No major problems. Carpet was just as promised.

I’m very satisfied with them and I think the price was very nice. They were very good and they did a good job.