Empire Today

Empire came to the home and the sales lady was very professional and courteous. A little aggressive but not overly. The price was comparable to other bids. The installers came the next day and .installed in one day. They also were very courteous and professional. I have additional rooms that will need carpeting in the future and will definitely ask Empire to bid.

Everything was fine (aside from the used car salesman pricing games he played) until I said that I would need to get two more quotes from other companies before I could make a decision. Once I told Terry, the salesman, he got very unprofessional and angry. He argued with me about needing to get other quotes and said that the price he "got" for me was only valid that day and as of August 1st, the price would go up by $1500. I explained that since I know nothing about carpeting and pricing, as wise consumers, my ex and I needed to check with a couple of more companies before we made a decision. Terry didn't like this. I told him that if he was confident in the quality of his product and the pricing he gave me it shouldn't be a problem. At this point I just wanted him out of my home and tried to get him to the door. He continued to stand in my family room and try to argue with me about how dumb it was for me to want other quotes. He told me that I led him to believe that I was the decision maker and that I wasted his time. The last straw was when he brought up my personal life and said "you are still being controlled by the wrong man". I had mentioned that I was in the middle of a divorce to explain my living/moving situation. I was mortified that he would feel it was professional or necessary to use that information against me over the loss of a sale. I do not recommend letting this company into your home. If I had not had another male in the house with me, I would have been terrified.

UUUGGGHHH!!! I work full time and am in the finishing stage of building a home, so I have very little time and a LOT to get done. I called Empire Today because I had heard their ads that say "call today and get your carpet installed tomorrow". The person in the call center wasn't able to answer any of my questions - all he could do was make an appointment with a salesperson. I told him I didn't want to waste their time or mine by having someone come out if they didn't have what I wanted or it was out of my price range. I told him I was ONLY interested in a solid colored golden tan frieze carpet. He assured me that they had lots of them. I asked that the salesperson call me before coming out so I could make sure they knew what I needed. He set an appointment for this morning at 9:00 and said he'd have the salesperson call me first. The salesperson called me at 8:15 this morning, and I told him I only wanted him to come out if they had an affordable solid color (no color blends) golden tan frieze. He assured me they had lots of choices that fit my description, and told me that a medium grade frieze was around $3 a square foot installed, even with an upgraded pad. That sounded good to me, so I told him to come out. I had to take time off from my job to meet him at the house. When the salesman arrived (at 9:20), I told him I didn't have time for him to unpack everything from his car and set up, because I had to get back to work, so he said he would just show me the samples in his trunk. He first showed me three different pads - one for low carpets like berber, the standard pad, and the upgrade. He said if I wanted the upgraded pad, "We could probably work something out." I reminded him that on the phone he had told me it would be around $3 a square foot, and he said, "Well, that depends on which carpet you choose." I asked him to show me which ones were that price. He started showing me textured carpets and multi-colored friezes, so I reminded him what I had told him before - that I ONLY wanted to see solid golden tan frieze. I must have told him that 6 times, but he kept pulling out everything BUT that!! He then admitted that he didn't have any solids - just the speckled-looking color blends, which I had specifically stated I DIDN'T want! While he was looking around in the trunk, I noticed a sales sheet he had in his binder that had prices on it. It listed "Target" prices, "10% Below Target", one or two other columns of prices, and at the far right, something like "Rock Bottom" prices. Most of the prices I saw in the frieze section were around $8.50. I can't imagine how much it would have ended up costing. I didn't even ask him about the cost, because by that time I had already realized that I wasn't going to buy from them. I realized that since they had misled me on the products, they had probably misled me on the cost, as well. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and he probably just figured he could talk me into something different from what I said I wanted. I told him we were finished and thanked him for coming out, anyway. What a WASTE of TIME!!

They were very professional, and true to their quote. They did the work the efficiently and on time. Prompt with service.

Step up has a slope, they put the luan before the vinyl and there is a very sharp edge. There is shelf in laundry room behind washer and dryer. The leg of the shelf which goes on the floor,was just gone around, instead of under. They got the wrong color of vinyl, the color we chose was ivory and they put down a brown/tan color. There are 5 or six different areas of bad work on the floor. Installer had a language barrier and there was no communicating with the three of them, they all spoke Spanish. On the day of installation, I had just gotten out of the hospital because of knee surgery, I shouldn't have been standing. They wanted me to come out to their van and look at the material. I came out, the roll of vinyl was wrapped up, design side in, under many tools, wrapped in plastic and not visible in any way. Made several calls with complaints, the first time 5.23.13 Left messages. 6.3.13 Left messages. 6.4.13 Supervisor got back to me, Rodger. Phil Lambert the salesman, took pictures and said it was shotty work. Also Dave Bowers was supposed to call me back on 6.7 6.7.13 No calls from Dave Bowers, Mgr. Phil called me and asked me what color range of samples would I like to see. 6.26.13 Gave up and called Angie's List. We had a carpet installed next door, 1 year ago and the seams are coming apart.

What I didn't like was Empire Today had the commercial that was saying 70% off and you couldn't figure out how you were saving 70% because it just didn't add up. The guy who installed the carpet didn't really have an explanation for it. They did a good job, though. It was quick, I didn't have any complaints about that. Their price was high.

They moved the big furniture. We paid them extra for that. They did a good job. They had a good spirit about them. We couldn't believe how quickly they did it. It took them a day. The pad isn't what we had hoped for. The salesman said it was their best quality. It is not as cushy as we had before.

I called Empire to give me an estimate on flooring on my home. I was told I could not have plank flooring and the salesman insisted that I needed to have vinyl and carpeting. The price was double the estimate I had received on plank flooring from another company and the products offered looked cheap so I declined. The salesman was very pushy and made me feel uncomfortable.

Actually, the full service has not happened yet. I am still waiting. First, I had scheduled the service for Friday May 17. Empire called Thursday afternoon to tell me that the flooring was not in stock and they had to reschedule. We rescheduled to saturday first thing. The installers showed up, and after they started the installation, found out that the material they had brought was not measures correctly -- they were short about 7 inches on one side. I first called the salesman, who told me to call "installation manager" at a 1-800 number. After some run-around I believe I did talk to her. I asked for the right measure of material to be brought to my houose the same day (as agreed) -- but she said the earliest she could do it would be Tuesday. We rescheduled for a later date (which I'll have to arrange in my work schedule). In the meantime, the laundry room is upside down, with the washer, dryer in the kitchen and the sink in the garage. House is upside down for a few more days. Empire agreed to give me a $175 discount for this agravation.

The installers and the product from this company were good, however we found the salesperson somewhat dishonest in her sales tactics, and there is definitely a lot of "fine print" with this company. For example, "installation next day" to them means within 3 business days. The 800 # that you have to call for any service issues connected us to staff who were not very interested in making people happy. If you have any problems, I would not expect any sincere apologies. Further, even with the sale prices, the deals were not as good as they seemed.

They were very quick, clean, professional, and courteous.

On 1st instillation, they did not finish edges of several areas and the laminate flooring began to "peak" at the sides of boards all over the house. Co sent their "top inspector" who said all had to be replaced; which they did. The flooring still peaked in several places but husband was frustrated enough that he refused to call Empire. Oh yes, the icing on the cake of the 1st instillation was when one of the workers tried to put my stove back but drug it across a still open floor vent breaking off the oven door handle completely taking some of the stove front with it; also not reported by husband. He did not want to confront them. He tends to be a bit too "nice" sometimes. I waited 20 yrs to get this floor and I am just done with it! They were polite, busy workers but I would not buy from Empire again.

Update on January 30, 2013 - I read the "response" from Rebekah Clerk, Empire's National Customer Service Manager. After having gone through all the Angie's List customer reviews of Empire and reading all the responses from Ms. Clerk, it seems they say the very same thing to any negative feedback. They need not bother "reaching out" to contact me. I participated in their phone customer feedback survey right after the installation and gave them all the same, very bad feedback and yet, no one bothered to "reach out" to contact me after that. But now, of course, on Angie's List, where their customer reviews are terrible, they make a big show of how concerned they are about the reviews. It just sums up this company to a tee. I used Empire Today for the new flooring for my condo in Indianapolis (7776-7780 Moller Road Indianapolis, IN 46268) because they had previously done work for my sister and they say they can usually start the next day. I met with the salesperson from Empire, Robert McManus, on Monday, December 17. My initial wish was to install engineered bamboo flooring and laminate tile. Robert immediately informed me that they don't keep bamboo in stock and it would be several weeks before I could get it. So, instead, I chose a natural oak engineered hardwood and the Black Opal laminate tile for the areas I wanted done. Robert first gave me a quote of over $16,000. I told him that was way more than I thought this should cost based on what I knew it had cost my sister for the work she had done just a few months before covering much more square feet than I was doing. The salesperson called the office and immediately dropped around $2000.00 off the cost. That, right there, should have been a red flag about their quotes. It was agreed the work would start the next day, Tuesday, December 18th. The hardwood would be laid first on Tuesday, moving on to the laminate tile on Wednesday. At the latest, I was promised they would be done by Thursday December, Dec 20th. During our meeting, I introduced Robert McManus to my building contractor, Robert Cain. I explained to McManus that Bob and his team would also be at the condo during this installation doing other work unrelated to the floors. McManus assured me that this people could easily work around Bob and his team, no problem. Bob Cain and I were both there on Tuesday morning when the Empire installers arrived. Empire insists that you have to pay upfront for the materials they are going to install on that day so I paid in full for the oak flooring. This is also a problem because once you've paid upfront for something, it leaves you very little power or influence once things begin to go wrong. The installers left on Tuesday around 3:30 p.m., which we thought was really early. They had not finished the wood in my master bedroom but said they would finish it the next day and then start on the tile. I chose to let it go at that time, only to find out later that the head installer lives near Louisville and therefore, tends to start later and quit earlier because of the drive. Which is not my problem, as their customer, but his decision as someone who does work for Empire in Indianapolis. On Wednesday, Dec 19th, Bob Cain and his team were there with the installers. When I arrived that morning, I was informed by the installers that the flange on the master bathroom toilet had broken "because it was rusty". The installers had not finished the wood floor in my master bedroom, and had only partially installed the tile in the entrance hall but had not installed any of the rest of the tile. Regardless, the lead installer informed me that they couldn't do anymore work that day (this was around mid to late morning) because Bob Cain needed to get the toilet problem fixed and they couldn't do anymore work with "all that mess going on" fixing the toilet. This, despite the fact that it was easy enough to close the bedroom door and go on tiling in the entrance hall and kitchen, but they refused. They also said they would not come back to do any further work until the toilet work was completed and the cement that the plumber would have to install had cured. Maybe Friday, maybe Saturday. Only afterwards did I learn from Bob Cain that the installers themselves actually broke the flange on the toilet when they were using their power chisel to chip up the existing tile floor in the master bathroom. I got in touch with Roger, the installation supervisor from Empire and explained everything that was happening. He said he would get in touch with the lead installer and get them back at my place on Thursday, Dec 19th, to keep working. He later explained to me that the lead installer lives near Louisville and didn't want to come back until they could do everything at once but he had told him to be at my place Thursday morning, regardless. He also said the lead installer was claiming he didn't break the flange. In the meantime, I spent $1500 to have the entire plumbing in the master bath redone, which involved ripping out drywall to get to the plumbing, digging out the area under the toilet, replacing everything,etc. The installers came back on Thursday the 19th but it was clear the lead installer was really angry about having to be there. They did finish the laminate tile in the entrance hall and kitchen and the hardwood in the master bedroom, but left early, again, without finishing the transition pieces for the wood to tile transitions, leaving a piece of edging unfinished over an opening in the floor between the wood floor and the sliding doors to the outside, etc. Again, I got on the phone with Roger. He then had a new crew come to my place on Saturday, Dec 21st. and came himself. The guys finished the transitions and did some tiling in the master bath. However, they discovered a water drip from a pipe in the washer/dryer area of the master bath that we needed to take care and therefore, they could not finish that day. Because of the Christmas holidays and a big snowstorm in Indianapolis, the new team was not able to return to finish their work until Thursday, December 27th. They had not finished chipping out the old tile from the washer/dryer area and were initially refusing to do so and lay tile there. Bob Cain told them that had to do it because that was part of the job. They did chip off the old tile but really did not finish that area of the tile well at all. Bob Cain had to end up finishing it off himself. This whole experience was an expensive and painful learning exercise for me. Although the products that Empire offer seem to be of a good quality, I hope, their performance and customer service was pitiful. I would warn anyone considering Empire Today for their flooring to think long and hard before doing so. I have never had a worse experience with any vendor in my nearly 60 years of life. Not only have they lost any future business from me, they've also lost any future business from my sister after the experience I had with them.

It started with us selecting tile and laminate flooring for my daughters house. We were helping her pay for this, so we had a chance to work with the salesman,scheduling personnel,Installing people, and their many but certainly not capable supervisors.. On the first day they were to start putting down the tile,I called to see if they were starting in AM or Pm. My daughter had put off lamps equipment,small furnacher in other places.She had also paid someone to stay at house to be there to let they in. Well, quess what?They claimed that no one had answered the phone to confirm so thet had never even ordered the flooring. Well, I had given them 3 diff. numbers.ONE was my home nuber,which I carried the phone with me at all times. Then thet said they could come Monday which was not acceptable,I then tried to reach David Gordan(salesperson WHO HAD LEFT HIS CELL NUMBER,AND HAD TOLD ME TO CALL WITH ANY PROBLEMS. hE DID NOT CALL BACK X 2 DAYS. nEXT,WE STARTED WORKING WITH THE SPECIAL CARE DEPT.,AND FINALLY GOT THEM TO COME 0UT ON Saturday. I could write three more pages,but lets say that my daughter,her husband,the house sitter, myself,and my husband spent the next 7 days trying to get lamenate flooring laid, and talk several times a day to " bobbie,David Gordan,Roger, and my all time favorite"worse supervisor of the decade-David Powers who took it as his personal job was to yell at me and even a one point told me I should not be "bothering "his salesperson. It was a battle right ot the end with them putting flooring down that was damaged(their were 4 people in room showing them thedefects that they said they could not see. Then they pull up the bad flooring,and left in on the floor and informed us they were goin g home. My daughter had to spent the evening and night trying to keep 5 kids off flooring so they would not get hurt..Feel free to call Angies List and get my phone number,I will probably change your mind from buying any type of flooring from them. It was truely my worse experience of buying and having something done in my 65years. I hope Rebecca will not try to justify or comment on everything we went through. If she feels likeshe has to,then we will feel it necessary to add even more detail and the pictures,

Very happy with the entire process. First, the salesman was not pushy, he was knowledgeable about his product and figured cost for all levels of laminate flooring. I'd researched cost carefully before he came and he stayed well below what I was willing to pay. When the installers arrived they were polite and friendly. They moved the furniture out of the rooms to be done without damaging anything removed all the doors undercut the doorways swept the floors then started putting down the pad and flooring. Definitely seemed to know what they were doing. Even though Empires installation hours are 8 to 6 they stayed till after 7 to get everything finished the new floors dusted and the furniture replaced before they left. I'm very happy with the new floor and the installers.

We called them in the morning and they were able to get out here that night which was really nice. The salesman showed up right on time at the start of our 2 hour window. I was really disappointed in the price. the cheapest product he could get us into was laminate which is normally $8/square foot which is normally $12/ Square foot. I noted that 8/12 is not 70% off. So the 70% off is just on the material but they get you on everything else. I really appreciated the salesman being up front I am just absolutely shocked that $8/square foot would be the lowest cost on any material they had that he could get us into....The appointment took 5 min so again really grateful it was short.

We saw their ad on TV and thought we would give them a call. We just bought a house and need to have the entire house re-carpeted. We have never purchased carpet before so were hoping for someone (and some company) more knowledgeable about carpet then The Home Depot. I called and scheduled a free in home measurement and shopping experience. The sales man, Jason, showed up when he was supposed to. We wanted to apply for financing so we thought that process could be getting done while we were looking at samples. We thought it might be a good idea to see what we qualified for before we found a sample of something we could just not afford. Jason suggested we could look at samples while we waited. However, he never brought anything in for us to look at while we waited. As it turned out we did not qualify for much. The sales man suggested paying with a credit card but at that exact moment ( he had just waled back in the front door, we totally felt put on the spot) we didn't know how much we would even need to be spending on carpet so we weren't sure about using a credit card. The sales man just left, he said we would be getting a call from another financing company in 48 hours then he would call back to reschedule. We have not received a call from another finance company, the salesman or the company. I am also not at all comfortable with this company having our personal information from applying for financing and never hearing from them again. If you use this company be leery. Not only for the reasons stated above but the sales man tried to tell us that nylon fiber was the worst kind of carpet out there and they didn't even sell the stuff. In doing more research I find that not to be the case at all. Needless to say we will not be using this company.

The entire thing was a pressure sell and the over-estimated the project by over a $1000! The first thing out of their mouths when they arrived was that they were on Angie's List, but I wouldn't hire them at all! We measured the floor area that needed to be redone, and they measured as well and they measured too much area. This was confirmed by another company that measured exactly what we measured before.

Replaced carpet that matted down under waranty for with new carpet of my choice sent 3 guy's out who did an exelant job were very profesional and helpful Thank You will refer your company to other people

Came on a Saturday for sales appointment. Well prepared and thorough. Installers showed up on Tues for the kitchen laminate. Done in 4 hrs. Looked excellent. Didn't have a good pointers on what to use to clean it though. On Wed, the carpet installers showed up. I tore down beds and move some of fragile items. They came in and moved everything to kitchen and 1 bedroom. They were on it within the 1st hour. They quickly removed all the carpet and old pad. The rest of the day, until 8 pm, was spent laying about 1500 sq ft of carpet. Only downer was they ran out of carpet for the last room. Luckily it was in a room that is the least used in the house. They were going to return on Sat to complete the job, but they ordered the wrong color. They did come back on the next Wed and were done in 2 hours. They helped move ALL of the stuff that I had personally moved, including a treadmill and a 200 lb table! They cleaned up EVERYTHING! Not a single thing was out of place or messed up or broken when they finally left.

The carpeting installers did a thorough job installing the carpeting pad and carpeting. Even in air conditioning and fans the weather made the installing a difficult job. However the guys finished within 6 hours. Clean up involved vacuuming and moving our furniture back in place. They gave us some helpful pointers on the care of our new carpeting. I am concerned about the appropriateness of the carpeting in the kitchen wether it is the right kind of carpeting for the kitchen. I guess time will tell if we made the correct decision.

The entire service went reasonably well. I called the phone number I had heard/seen in Empire Today's incessant TV ads. Incessant and effective; I responded. The salesperson came to my home that evening by appointment. My carpet was installed the next day. I like my Mohawk carpet and its professional installation. Next day service was the reason I chose that company. My elderly (nearly 21 year-old) cat had died a few days before, and, try as I might, I could not get the current carpet smelling good again. I felt desperate to get new carpet. Would I use this company again? Maybe. I thought the company should pay all their workers more so they could dress like the one in the ads. When the delivery truck pulled in that Saturday, I was not certain if the driver was looking for my house or a meth lab. I think their TV ads, while not dishonest, deliberately mislead the viewer. When I asked about the 60 per cent off sale, I was shown those selected styles--all old and ugly, in my opinion. The salesman's presentation was not as clear as it could have been. On the day of delivery, the head workman presented me with the bill, claiming that no work would begin until it was paid in full. Although I had presented my charge card and assured him I would pay when the job was finished, he insisted on immediate payment. I was made to feel very uncomfortable with this since I am not used to doing business this way. I think trust between vendor and buyer is important.

I have really liked Empire Today. The price was decent and they did a beautiful job.

The carpet was cut too short and it was not installed correctly. In fact, it comes up every time I sweep it. They refuse to come out and fix it even though they charged me. If using this company I would recommend just getting the nylon the others will fall apart. My carpet was not installed correctly and it was falling apart and they wanted more money to fix their poor job. I had to contact my attorney to get them to come back out and fix the poor carpeting job with out an additional charge. They did a wonderful job after my attorney got after them.

The guys that came were fine. They came to do the work and left.