Empire Today - Chicago

We made the appointment for the estimate online. There were several choices for dates and windows of time. We selected the most convenient date/time slot for us, and wrote it down on our calendar. We never received a confirmation, but thought that maybe that fact that we arranged for the appointment online would mean that we would get an email. No email ever came. The date/time slot passed and nobody ever showed up or called. We have always heard the commercials and thought we would give them a try, but were disappointed in the lack of showing up for the estimate we had scheduled. We contacted another similar advertiser and received excellent service.

I made the appointment online a couple days in advance at a time I was sure all "decision makers" would be present as required. The appointment widow was from 1-3 PM on a Saturday. At approx. 2:50 PM I received a call from someone (not the salesman) to tell me that the salesman would be about an hour and a half late. That's right, an hour and a half late. As angry as I was, I agreed to wait until 4:30 PM and they agreed to give me a $50 credit on any purchase. At approx. 5 PM I called customer service to find out where the salesman was. I was informed that he should be at my house in about another 30 minutes. When I inquired why I wasn't contacted I was told that the salesman was with another customer and about another 30 minutes was the best they could do and they could give me an additional $50 for my inconvenience. As I write this at about 7:30 PM, I still have not heard from the salesman to see if I could/would re-schedule. If his attitude is anything like the folks at the customer service number, I don't expect I'll hear from him or anyone for that matter. After seeing their commercials on TV for years, I called them with confidence but that was destroyed after this experience and the total lack of consideration on their part as well as the total lack of ownership of their mistake. Lastly, a cut-and-paste company response like the several I read on other posts is more insulting than no response at all. However, given the way I was treated today, I would expect nothing more than a cut-and-paste response.

The salesperson who gave me the estimate was very nice. The only problem I had was getting the financing they advertise. I usually don't have any problems getting credit. Because I had time off work and wanted to get this completed, I still agreed to let Empire do the work. The subcontractors they used for both plumbing and the installation of the bath liner and tub were great. The workmanship was superior and all mess was taken with them.

Salesman arrived late, but it was due to flooding in NWI. I wanted nylon, but he had none. Their frieze was ugly and we settled on a Berber. After the salesman left, my wife and I discussed the purchase and wondered why we bought something we really did not like. We immediately canceled the order. The salesman called my back to ask what was wrong. I explained to him that it was his product that we really did not like. We purchased a much better quality carpet (Nylon Frieze) and pad (8 lb Stain master Pet Guard) for around $400 more.

I made the appointment online on Sunday evening and had the confirmation in a couple hours. The appointment was for two days later and the person arrived in the two hour time span I had selected. We did not want installation until the next week and that was fine. We had to move all breakables out of the cabinets. (We did not have to do that for two other carpet installations.) They moved all the heavy furniture including taking two small recliners to the basement. They did a very good job. The old carpet was cut in 4-foot or less pieces, rolled and stacked very neatly where we asked (without any supervision). They worked very fast but notified us when they were replacing furniture so we could oversee exactly where all the big pieces were placed. The installation group of 3 worked very efficiently together. I would use Empire again.

Horrible crew. Four of the windows were ordered wrong. In the end took over four months to finish the job. Probably made 40 calls asking them to finish the job. It was cheap but the quality was horrible and took months to finish what should have been a two day job.

Empire gave us a price that was significantly higher than their main competitor and offered lower quality carpet with fewer color selections. It pays to shop around and have both of the companies that advertise on TV come give you estimates.

I called Empire and was able to schedule an appointment for the next business day (called on Friday, appointment for Monday). The person on the phone couldn't really answer many questions, but was friendly enough. The salesman was nice, showed the options, and measured the room. We decided on a pretty neutral, medium priced carpet, and the installation was scheduled for the next day. Empire showed up the next day and performed the installation. There was a slight snag, as apparently the salesman forgot to account for the threshold on the door to the room, and the installer didn't think they had enough carpet to cover it. The installer was a little surly about it (considering it wasn't *our* mistake--it was the salesman's). But it turns out (fortunately) he did have enough carpet, so the job was done in no time.

It was a horrible experience. Our appt time was from 11-1. After waiting from 11 - 1 for our rep to show, I called to find out why no one had arrived. The person I spoke to on the phone said that we were the rep's only appt today, and left a message for the rep and said he would call me back in 20 minutes. After waiting until 1:30, I still had not heard from the rep. I called empire and canceled the appt. Unfortunately, no one apologized for the inconvenience, or even asked if we are willing to reschedule. I emailed empire to provide feedback. The manager called and apologized, and said that he would personally come to a new appt. He also offered us a discount for the window treatments. I told him that I needed to speak to my husband about it, and he said that he would call back by the end of the week. He never called back. I would not recommend taking time to wait for a quote from Empire. The company did not respect our time, and did not provide any service to us.

The sales experience was easy and pleasant. I was able to get the installation appointment and carpet I wanted at a good price. When the installers arrived they charged me cash for the removal of my carpet (which I had already paid for through the salesperson). I paid the cash, but then reported it to Empire and they refunded me $20 more than I paid.

We called Empire basically because we wanted an in-home shopping experience due to physical inability to shop in stores. Our representative (Bob) was punctual, informative and helped us choose a suitable carpet for our 22' x 19' great room. If we had the ability to shop around more, maybe we could have found a better price, but at $2,200.00 it was within our budget. We moved all the furniture out of the room with the exception of a large cabinet, which the installers moved and replaced when the work was complete. The installation team arrived on time, went right to work and finished the job in less than three hours. They removed the old carpet, laid the new and took the old carpet away. The installation team did an excellent job and the carpet looks great! The quality of the pad and carpet is good for the price. Overall, my husband and I are very pleased with our purchase from Empire.

Estimator was on time, measured the rooms, and provided a quote in just minutes. Compared to proposals from other companies, Empire's quote did not provide specifics such as measurements, room layout, type of padding, etc., but they did underbid the competition and I decided based on budget. That's when all the headaches started. It was impossible to get in touch with them. Before Empire could enter the building to do the work, the condo association requires contractor forms to be submitted along with a certificate of insurance naming them added insureds.I called the company's customer service three times to find out when that would be accomplished so that an installation day could be confirmed. No one had the information, but each time, a call back was promised. Never got the information. I called the salesman to see if he could help find out about the forms and insurance certificates, but he never got back to me. The installation date was delayed. On the contract for the carpeting, I requested they call thirty minutes before arrival so I could be there. No such call came on the installation day. Without good communication, it's a wonder how they get anything accomplished!

I had to put in 5 phone calls in 2 1/2 weeks before I got any action. I finally called my credit card to cancel payment. They agreed to have an inspector come to my house this week. Its been nothing but frustrating. Even if they came out to fix their mistakes I wouldn't use them again due to poor customer service.

Empire Today was quick and did a great job!

The rep came to my house and listened to what I wanted. I have two banks of 3 windows in my living and dining rooms which are arranged in a kind of bay shape. I wanted 1" wood blinds because that is what the windows will fit. The salesperson kept pushing 2" blinds. I said 2" blinds would protrude and he said that it would be better to have one long blind across three windows than put in a separate one for each that fitted. He quoted me $3500 for that. He quoted me a further $500 for two aluminum blinds that I was able to buy at another well known store for less than $30. I told him that I could not afford that much and thanked him for his time. He then dropped his price by 50%. I felt ripped off. If he had enough of a profit margin to drop his price by 50% then he was quoting WAY TOO MUCH. I got the 1" wood blinds I wanted on-line from a web site for $550 and I got a handyman through Angie's List to install them. I would never buy anything from Empire after that experience.

I had Empire come out for an in-home estimate, and the salesman was great (at that time). We picked out carpeting for the basement and three bedrooms upstairs, totaling $5000. Because the basement carpeting needed to be replaced due to flood damage, we needed an estimate to give to the insurance company. The salesman gave us a written estimate that wasn't professional enough for the insurance company. So, I called and he said that he would give us one on letterhead, but that he was too busy to do it at the moment, so he would call me back when the estimate was ready to be faxed. He never called. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and called back and left a message. No response. Called again, and again he said he was too busy but would call me when it was ready to be faxed. He never called. So, I called again and left a message, no response. If this is how they treat their customers *before* the installation, imagine the service after! Not a good experience to say the least.

They did it on time, with the same price as the estimate, and no complaints about the service.

I called for an appointment. I told them what type of flooring I was looking for and they said they sold that brand of wood. So we made an appointment on Monday afternoon. On the day of the appointment, he called me 20 minutes to 5 and said he was running behind and couldn't make the appointment. He then continued to ask me what was the purpose of coming? I told him I wanted an estimate for hardwood floors with a specific style you said you said you had. He said that they did not carry that brand. When I made the first call, they said they DID have what I needed.

Discovered soaked hardwood floor on Saturday. Toilet had leaked and the flooring was ruined. Called a few businesses to see if anyone could come quickly, and Empire said they'd be out Monday, but to have all decision-makers present at the appointment. My wife was on a trip, but I assured them I could make the call if I liked what I saw. Salesman showed up as scheduled with maybe a dozed samples, and rather nonchalantly took them out and said stop him when I saw something I liked. He was just a salesman, and seemed to know nothing about flooring other than how to sell it. The only thing he did in the bathroom was measure it - the contractor we eventually used measured the moisture level and warned us the sub floor would have to dry or we'd have problems over time. He had no advice for what type of tiles were best for our needs, and was generally no help figuring out what needed to be done. On top of that, his estimate was 50% higher than the local, professional installers, $1,139.

I was surprised that it only took 2 days for them to put in the ceramic tile in the kitchen of my house. They were extremely methodical, and they were always communicating with us, which I thought it was absolutely wonderful. They even called a week later to see how it was going. I had some questions, and they answered them. They are really good guys.

The salesman was wonderful. When he came he brought plenty of great samples and answered all of my questions. When the contractors arrived they finished in one day and their clean-up great. They were very good all around and everything went smoothly.

They were really nice about answering my questions and being on time. The only inconvenience that I had was that it took them 3 visits to install them correctly. The first time they messed it up, the second time they fixed the mistake, and the third time they finished the job.

After waiting at unit for 2 hours, the sales rep, Brian, calls at last minute to cancel appt. claiming car trouble. Brian agrees to call next afternoon and find a convenient time to meet if I'm available. Brian calls next evening at 5:30 and says he can only meet immediately. We rescheduled for the next day at 10am. At 10:15 with no rep and no phone call, I call Brian to confirm our meeting, he says he will be right over. He then calls back 5 minutes later to get details on samples he should bring. Brian arrives at 10:30. Prices seemed higher than expected, so I tell Brian I'll confirm with my wife and call him later in the day. Brian says no problem. I call Brian a couple hours later and leave message that I want to place order. No return call. Leave 2nd message next morning. No return call. I call Empire Today's 800 number and explain situation and say I'd like to place order, but not with Brian. Empire says they need to schedule new appt. To measure, but will offer $100 off.

I was really impressed with the customer service aspect of it. Everybody was very nice and I have no complaints about them. There was nothing spectacular about the work, the workmanship wasn't what I expected it was going to be. They were here when they said they would be, and their appearance was very casual. The price was right were the other companies were. It was their availability and time frame that swayed me.

There was some confusion over the amount of square footage and they did not bring enough carpet. It was a Saturday, so they had to wait until Monday to finish. The final work was great though. The price was not the most expensive nor the cheapest.