Empire Today - Chicago

It went very well, the only thing I was dissapointed with was the price, it was a little higher than expected. The installers were fantastic, they moved all of my furniture and put everything back in place. I cant say enough about how satisfied I was with the installers they were really good.

Was not impressed with the pressure sales pitch. Price was expensive to start and she acted like she was doing me a favor by calling the boss to see if they could go cheaper. Told her I would think about it, and she got very defensive saying it would be a long time before she came this far out of the city. I thanked her and went elsewhere.

I spent a long time on hold today waiting to make an appointment for tomorrow because the online appointment system was down. Then a few hours after I made an appointment, I called back because I realized that an appointment later that day would be better. But when I called to ask if a later appointment was available, I was told that there were no appointments for days, so I said I just wanted to keep my current appointment. Turns out, my current appointment was cancelled without notifying me or warning me that looking for another appointment time would cancel my current appointment. I was told that appointment was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. I spoke to a supervisor named Maria who was completely unhelpful. She kept telling me that tomorrow was now overbooked. Where did my appointment go? How come I wasn't warned that looking for another appointment would cancel my current one?! Very bad customer service experience. It was like they didn't want my business, and they wasted a lot of my time.

The salesman came right to our home with an SUV load of samples. He was very helpful. The carpet selection was vast and the quality was wonderful. The installation team was top-notch; they got the job done quickly but were very detail-oriented. The team was polite and cleaned up extremely well after the installation. We will definitely only use Empire from now on.

Mike was punctual and helpful providing an estimate at the time of his visit. After that, he made an extra effort to bring samples by for my husband to see as he was not there during the original appointment. He followed up repeatedly during the next two weeks while we made a decision. When we notified him that we were going to use another company, he was very rude. He said that we wasted his time and hung up on me.

PAID THEM IN FULL BEFORE REPAIRS AFTER THEY SHOWED UP LATE AND NOT IN THE WINDOW GIVEN US

I remember it like it was yesterday. Anyways we wanted black flooring but the closest they had was like a brazilian or something I forgot the name very deep alternating tones it was gorgeous in the picture. On the day of installation the contractors left the door wide open in my house the whole day I had to turn off the heat... We were freezing it is APRIL!!! No consideration at all so we washed clothes all day and huddled in the laundry room. When I went upstairs to check on them they had a couple bedrooms done and my mother was like that isn't the right color... i freaked out and ran outside and looked at the name on the packaging and it was cherry!!! Totally not a dark color we picked..... I freaked out and told the guy and he was like I dunno..... sigh...... sub contractors.... so I called the company and nobody answered it was easter weekend. I wrote and email and called corporate left many many machine answering messages... meanwhile the guys were already halfway done with the job and I told them and they just kept going... So I get a call back monday morning and they said they would take off 3000.00 we took the deal but we hate the color of our floor and what else could we do. Overall very unprofessional and I will never use this company again or recommend.

Made a installation appointment 2 weeks ahead .that day of installation waited all day got a call 3:00 pm they were 20 minutes away our window was from 1-3 .then when they got there wanted all money upfront before they would do install after we aready gave half down on original order. very unprofessional

Well... the sale rep (Gerald) was pleasant. He even called to let me know that he would be early for his appointment and was quite reasonable when I informed him that my previous appointment was running longer than I had anticipated. He graciously waited (apparently in his car, up the street from my house) until I had concluded that appointment with a competitor. When he arrived, he inquired how the competitor did and then informed me that Empire had recently bought out the competitor. Obviously, that was unnecessary... but, okay. After confirming that I was still in the market for carpeting, he proceeded to show me samples and take measurements. Ultimately, a selection was made (with his assistance regarding color and style), the contract was signed, and I was informed that Customer Service would call after 6 AM the following morning to advise me on when the installers were scheduled to arrive (at least a window for arrival). Gerald also told me that if I hadn't heard from Customer Service by 1030 AM, to give them a call. At 1116 AM the following day, as I still had not received a phone call providing a "window" for time of delivery, I called Customer Service and was informed that the installers would be at my house around 3 PM. They finally arrived around 447 PM. Although the carpet color appeared much lighter than in the sample, the name of both the product series as well as the color/style name matched the Flooring Specification Sheet, so the installation process commenced. This process finally concluded at 930 PM. 6 1/2 hours for 12 wrapped steps, a short hallway and linen closet. This seems a bit long to me, but the lead installer explained that his work order said that the customer would be responsible for the removal of the old carpeting (although my Flooring Specification Sheet did indicate that Empire would be responsible for taking up and hauling away the existing carpet). FWIW, I have engaged Empire in the past, and it took less time for them to install 4 rooms of carpeting (including moving the furniture and removing the old carpeting). Despite the lack of communication, the length of time it took for the actual installation process, and even the fact that they didn't even arrive for the install until 45 minutes after the designated time (and that's also considering the fact that I had to call them to find out when they were scheduled), my dissatisfaction (and make no mistake about it, I am extremely dissatisfied) stems from the quality of the product. Both the carpeting and the padding are of such a profound and disappointing quality, that I would much prefer to have the 30+ year old original carpet re-installed. ... and I did point out to the sales rep that the padding that he was recommending seemed much ( much) thinner than that of the original padding, he assured me that the padding he was recommending was their "high end" padding and that I wouldn't want it any denser / thicker as is was going on stairs. Frankly, this is the first negative review that I have written on Angie's list. ... and it's probably no fault of Empire, but I do wish that the sales rep had at least tried to steer me away from this awful choice of carpeting and been more understanding of my concerns regarding this thin, and cheaply constructed padding. Obviously, I feel that I have wasted both time and money as the resulting product is far better suited for an industrial environment rather than a home.

The carpeting is fine, but they install the hardwood over a rotten subfloor. Now, it's coming up, and they're fighting me about fixing it. I'm writing this pending resolution from the company. Update: After going back and forth, they reimbursed me for having my subfloor replaced and redid th e hardwood. The problem we had is that they don't look at the structural integrity of the subfloor. They only teat it for moisture. Apparently our door had been leaking and was still leaking. But we had the floors replaced in August, so the moisture reader showed it was dry. They installed the floor, and when rain started again, the floor started coming up, indicating it was still raining onto the subfloor where we couldn't see it. Also, I feel they shouldn't have put new floors over the rotten subfloor even if it wasn't still leaking water. But in the end, the floor is great.

From start to finish Empire was great.

I called Empire to see whether they sold Shaw laminate since I wanted to install laminate in the bedrooms to match the Shaw laminate in the living room. The woman assured me they did have it. When the salesman arrived with several laminate sample portfolios, I asked where the Shaw samples were. He said Empire has their own brand, but its equivelant to Shaw. I picked a sample that looked close to what I had. He measured and gave me a quote of just over $6,000. But he said there is a special sale price he could give me which was just over $4,000. Then he said he would call his boss to see if he could offer me the very special sale price. After a very short call ( I doubt he was even talking to someone) he said he could authorize a price of $3,000. He tried to pressure me into putting down a deposit. I refused and will look elsewhere for the flooring. The "bait and switch" and price manipulation tactics made me feel like I was dealing with a less than honest company.

The price was approximately 5% higher than Home Depot (cheaper than the discount carpet stores), but they had capreting in stock and we were able to get the carpet installed within 2 days vs. having to wait 3 weeks. The salesman was very professional and did not pressure sell (I think because he knew that we had done our home work and knew what we wanted).I willl defintely call them when it comes tome to carpet the basement.

I give them all As. I've used them before and they do a great job.

Empire was very responsive initially when trying to make the sale. They were able to "close" us upon first meeting with price and availability. We had already had two other estimates so we had a ballpark figure. I was disappointed with their selection but found a color and pattern that I liked. The salesperson did not do a lot to sell the quality of the carpet. I had to ask a lot of questions concerning content, etc. However, he was definitely in for the hard-sell and promised price breaks and upgrades of padding plus delivery when we needed it. They did come through with all of that. However, Empire uses different carpet companies and used two different ones on two separate days for our job. When I tried to reach the salesperson to voice my concerns that the carpet was too blue he was no where to be found. I left a very specific voice message asking him to come by with the sample from which I chose the carpet and never heard a word back. I got the feeling that the sale had been made and that was the end of it.

The sales guy was very nice and knowledgeable. They were real clean when they put in the carpet. I was pleased at the time. I bought an expensive vacuum cleaner and vacuumed it. When I vacuumed it, a lot of stuff came up. When I did that, I could see the seam line. The very same day I could see the seam. Two days later I called them and had them come back. They redid it but then they said that’s how it was and it was just the way it is. To this day, I can see the seam. I will never use Empire again.

We just began the search for hardwood floors for our first home. We had many appointments set up with multiple flooring companies to get estimates and everything was going great until the guy from Empire showed up. First off, I would not even be able to tell you his man's name because he would not give me his business card after I asked him multiple times for one. Next, when he arrived he just dropped his samples on our floor. Not set them down nicely, dropped them. And he did not take his shoes off. Thanks for trying to keep our existing floors looking nice while we still have them. He stated that he did not have all of this sample so if we did not see something that we liked on the 2 sample boards that he brought with him then there would be no need to measure. He also states that their are not any other hardwood floors besides bamboo and oak. We did our research before we started looking and we know that there are a lot more types out there. I found a floor that I liked and he finally measured. When he did measure he did not measure all of the areas. He left out a closet and a bathroom. So how he got the measurements for those I don't know. When he was trying to figure out the price he did not have the current price list so he spent 45 minutes trying to get a hold of a manager while lounging on our couch. He finally got a hold of someone and gave us a price, which was about $2000 more then their competetor. He did not want to work on the price at all. He overstayed his welcome trying to push this floor on us saying that tomorrow is the last day for the sale. The entire time that he was here he would bad mouth Luna stating that Luna did horrible installations service and that was the reason that Empire bought Luna. After doing some research after he left we found that it was not Empire that bought Lung. A third party company bought Empire and then that same third party bought Luna. We are very disappointed with this service and would not consider them to install hardwood floors just based on how the sales man did his job. We will be going with Luna for our hardwood floor purchase and instillation because the service that we have received from them has been absolutely amazing!

Made appointment by phone. Intake person thorough and professional. Salesperson was on time and very helpful without being pushy and had only samples related to info given to intake person. Other than slight mixup in their schedule of what was being done on which day (which was corrected), things went very well.

They didn't discuss pros and cons of each style. They didn't do anything to sell the product. He didn't bring in the padding for us to discuss. The price was competitive, but the carpet was polyester, which I was not interested in.

Empire salesperson came out to our house to give a quote to re-carpet our townhouse. Her original quote was $5500, significantly higher than previous quotes we had received. After some negotiation, she reduced her quote to $2600. The fact that Empire was able to reduce its price by more than 50% made it difficult to trust them. While $2600 was a great price, we ended up going with Mr. Carpet due to its upfront pricing (no negotiation necessary), high Angie's list reviews, and honesty of the owner. You might get a good price at Empire but be prepared to negotiate. I also question the quality of carpet we would have received for $2600.

We contacted them online and setup our appointment online, which was super easy. We setup the appointment for a Thursday night between 7:00pm and 9:00pm due to our work schedules. On the night of the appointment we received a phone call from our saleswoman who said she would be to our home closer to 9:00. At 9:30pm she arrived and later we found out that she was late because at the previous customer's home she was at was making dinner, she was offered to eat with the customer and was her excuse to being late. I'm sorry, but if your a salesperson and you make an appointment to be at someone's home at a certain time, please be on time and let alone don't tell the customer truly while you are late. Also are we truly the most important people you are dealing with when you answer your phone and talk to your daughter about what to eat at home. After much talking about anything except carpet we were given our quote and we were told $5000 (approx) to install carpet for the two rooms. At this point and time of day I was so close to ask the person to leave our home. We were then told we would get a discount and the final price we paid was listed above. At this time of night all we wanted to do was get a carpet quote and go to bed. At 10:45, the saleswoman left our home and we were unimpressed with the lack of professionalism by the Empire representative. We decided to have Empire install the carpet because we were in need to have the carpet installed due to the element of time. The gentlemen who came to install our carpet were wonderful. They were professional and worked hard and this process went smooth. I guess we got a bad taste in our mouths at the initial sales quote.

Well the job is completely finished....4 days later than originally told. They did a decent job of cleaning up the place....still have to wipe down EVERYTHING and wash every article of clothing in the house. The floors do look amazing. The company was not responsive. They were going to discount my bill for the amount of my hotel stay, I still have not heard from them about that. I will keep calling.

How did it go overall? It was a nightmare. Plain and simple.

Called on a Wednesday, quoted on a Thursday, installed on Friday. We had vinyl flooring installed in the basement. This was one of those projects I though I could do myself, but chickened out and went with the pros. I'm nervous to do business with anyone that advertises as much as Empire, but it was a great experience. Considering they had two installers on site for seven hours I was very happy I didn't take on the job myself. The installation looks perfect. No seams, no bubbles or uneven areas. We have some areas of the basement that have raised concrete that's always looked bed with carpeting. The installers shaved down the concrete and it make all the difference. The product itself is perfect for a basement. It has a wood look, but it's obvious that it's not wood. But it's in a basement and if it gets wet it can be pealed up, dried/wet vacced and laid back down.

I had some negotiations with them, but I wasn't pleased with them. So, I didn't do business with them. Their approach was to not provide me with a written estimate and that was very unprofessional. They just wanted to give me a business card. They wanted to make sure that I had them do the work on that day itself. I actually signed a contract with them. Then I contacted them and told them that I had changed my mind. There was a minor hitch there, but they returned my deposit; so I can't fault them for that. The primary reason why I didn't want to get involved with them was because I felt that they were too much of volume and the whole idea that I didn't get a written estimate so that I could compare it to other estimates. That was not businesslike. They have TV commercials here and apparently one would assume that they do a lot of business. So, I was very surprised with their approach. I went to their store and they gave me their price on the business card, but they didn't give me an estimate which would have allowed me to understand what were their calculations based on. They measured up my place and gave me a business card envelope. They said that their computer doesn't print it out; so they couldn't give me a written estimate. That was very concerning and a red flag for me. It was a free estimate, but it was an unprofessional estimate. Their responsiveness was fine. My impression was that they didn't want to give the materials to do comparison shopping. I will not consider using them in the future.