Empire Today®

Scheduling an appointment was confusing, and obviously not being handled by real flooring professionals. The high pressure atmosphere made us skeptical and we figured the ads were probably too good to be true. We thought we were going to subject ourselves to a high pressure sales situation, so we canceled.

The next day installation is a dream and wonderful. The sales presentation for price was uncomfortable.

A sale representative came to our place an evening and gave us an estimate. We thought we'd be able to get the "pay for 1 room and get 2 free", but we were told the special did not apply to us because of the area covered (too small). The sale representative stayed long, he wanted us to sign right away, we ended up giving a quote we thought was reasonable and it was accepted. I don't really like this sale technique, we did not get to compare quotes. (that's probably our fault though) The installers were supposed to come between 2 and 6pm. We had to cancel because they would not have been there until 7pm, so instead they came the following morning around 6am. But in the end, we were pleased with the quality of the work, the workers were efficient.

Again, the cost listed was not what we actually paid, that was their quote. We completed the job paying just over $2500 with a local company who has the exact same services as Empire Today.

Excellent I wish I had spoken to them about removing squeaky floors before installation.

The sales people were very pushy, and insistent on making a sale right there and then. We scheduled our installation, and all seemed to be going well. The installers did not speak English, so this was a bit of a problem, and they showed little regard to our home. But I was just excited to get new carpeting. Unfortunately, after time my carpet began to wear very excessively. After only 2 years, my new carpet looked worse than the 10 year old carpet I had replaced. We do not wear shoes in our home, we have no pets, and I regularly clean and maintain my floors. I called Empire to file a complaint that the carpet was of defective quality, and they sent out an inspector to evaluate the carpet. Imagine my supprise when he determined it was normal wear and tear and the type of carpet we selected. We did not choose low quality carpet, and I believe we were prey to a bait and switch scam where the carpet we choose, was not in fact the carpet installed in our home. I am disgusted with Empire Carpets, and think they are scam artist and dishonest. I was better off with the 10 year old carpet than with the crap Empire put in my home. I would never recommend them to anyone!

We had installed a laminate floor in our kitchen, but soon found out it was dangerous for our dog and cats...and us people too. Too slippery and too many wall crashes! The salesman helped up figure out that we wanted room rugs and not wall to wall carpet. It looks great and our pets can run without hurting themselves.

They did what they said. They installed the carpet. My only objection was that I thought there was a limited supply of options. I was satisfied with the job that was done.

They had earlier done carpets for me for 2 houses and I was extremely pleased with them. They did a really nice job and their products were nice. They were very professional. The men their hired were extremely meticulous, however most of them didn’t speak good English. That was a little bit of a barrier.

They were very responsive, prompt and came on time. They did an incredible job. The crew who came out was very professional and thorough. Their price was very good. I was very pleased with their service.

Workers were right on time, and did a good job, but left without putting the closet doors back on. They also left an empty water bottle in the front yard. The worst thing about Empire Today is the price. I'm a first time homebuyer, so it's partly my fault for not researching prices more, but I discovered a few days later that I really got ripped off. $1700 is WAY too much for such a small area, not to mention the fact that there was no furniture to move, and the rooms were perfectly rectangular....no difficult angles or corners. I would recommend them ONLY if they dropped their prices.

The saleswoman arrived halfway through the two hour window of time. She showed us four carpet samples after we described what we were looking for. We didn't like any of these and went to her truck to look further. I was disappointed by their lack of selection. She first gave us the "undiscounted" estimate- $7500. For one bedroom, hallway and one stair runner??? Then gave us the "discounted" version- $3500- still high. My husband then told her we had our entire basement carpeted just a year earlier from Empire for less that $1500. She then came back with $1900. The whole pricing experience plus their extreme lack of selection was disappointing. We've decided to go with another company.

It could not have gone any better. Everything was very positive.

I called the toll-free number for Empire on a Sunday afternoon and scheduled an appointment for the very next day. The rep arrived at the house (at the end of the window), but he called about 45 minutes out. He took me through the options and didn't try to upsell. He recommended the medium grade berber because he said that the high grade was more looped and might snag too easily, since we were planning to use the basement den as a play area for our two year old. Empire was having a sale, and we also received next-day install and military discounts. I bargained a little, but he might have gone down more. We scheduled the work for the next day. Two installers showed up on time the following morning. One spoke plenty of English and he took the lead. It took them longer than I thought it would - about 4-5 hours - but they did a great job and were very polite. I don't know anything about carpet quality, but for a playroom and a guest bedroom that hardly ever gets used, the carpet seems plenty good enough.

The sale-mans was polite and was open to some negotiation regarding price. The installers showed up on time and behaved in an professional manner while they installed the hardwood. We changed the date that we wanted the work done several times and the company honored our needs without question.

Too expensive and unprofessional customer service.

Salesperson called back the following week and advised me to use Home Depot because he dislikes the company he works for. Not very professional at all.

They arrived on time, moved my furniture and got down to work. The floor looks great and they cleaned up after themselves. They finished just when they said they would.

Called the company number and a salesman came the next day. SALESMAN The friendly salesman arrived with various carpet samples. He diagramed and measure the rooms. The choice of colors was somewhat limited (compared to a carpet store) but included what I was looking for. The price $3100 was just slightly above Home Depots price and much lower than a full service carpet store. I selected an install for three days later (although next day was available) and gave a $100 deposit. The salesman had a checklist of questions and information items - he went over everything before leaving. BEFORE INSTALLATION I learned the building elevator would be tied-up with a move in on my selected install day but free the next day. I called Empires 800 number to change the install date. The phone representative found my information quickly and made the adjustment. INSTALLATION Two installers arrived on the installation day about 9:30. They spoke limited English but enough so that we could communicate. They took a look at my apartment and I checked to make certain they had the correct carpet. I then paid the $3000 balance using my credit card - payment before installation was a condition of the contract. The installers knew what they were doing and worked smoothly as a team. They moved my furniture and some storage boxes. (I had previously removed and packed items from shelves and bookcases.) The removed the old carpet and pad from the living room, dining room, and two closets. They swept the floor and installed the new padding. Then they installed the carpet. They vacuumed the carpet. My furniture was moved back into the living room and dining room. The process was repeated for each of the two bedrooms. The installers cleaned up the hallway leading to the elevator and removed all debris from the loading dock. The installation took about 7 hours. I tipped the installers for a job well done.

The experience was not a good as we had expected. In a nut-shell: 1) The installers did not speak English, so I'm not sure how Empire expected them to speak with me about the job. (I did not tell them that I speak Spanish.) 2) The very first thing that happens when the installer shows up is that he presents you a bill for the remaining amount due for the work and will REFUSE to work unless they've been paid. (This was not explained by the sales person, and frankly, I think they do this so that if you are not satisfied it limits your options.) 3) Empire Carpet (aka Empire Today) quoted me installation of the carpets and also charged me for the replacement of all of the threshold edging (metal pieces where wood/tile/laminate floors meet at the woods). They did not do this. 4) After the installation I noticed that the outer edges of the carpet had tons of threads that were sticking out around the baseboards and carpet edged. The sales person indicated that Empire had a 5 year warranty; however, after about 13 months I was vacuuming the carpets and one of the loose threads got sucked in the rollers and put a serious run in the carpet. At this point I walked around the house and took a much closer look at all of the edgings. This is when I noticed that none of the transition metal/edging had been replaced, and the huge number of loose threads around the baseboards. (Trust me, we don't vacuum enough to cause this...) So, I called up Empire and told them to story, and that this was due to their poor installation. They told me that they only warranty their work for a year and that there was nothing they would do about it. At the end of the day we're very disappointed with they poor service and quality of work... I would not recommend Empire Carpet/Empire Today to anyone.

Our sales person was suppose to come between 9 am and 11 am - by 12:30 they had not showed up or called. A little after 12:30 the rep called to say that she was running late and asked if they could show up in 20 minutes - we agreed. The rep came and was horrible. She had zero professionalism. Her first words were "I am [sick]. I don't know how to pronounce your name, what's your name again? Oh, I could never pronounce that. Where do you need carpet?" We smiled and ignored her rudeness, but the rest of the appointment continued further downhill. She laid out her swatches and had very little to say about the samples. We had to continually prompt her for information on thickness, durability, recommendations, options etc. Her answers were equally limited. In between the faces she seemed to make, her responses were curt, defensive, and at best filled with a demeaning tone at our nerve to ask. We asked her if she could give us pricing for the entire house and then 2 pricings for 2 rooms we might leave out - she sighed and said "I did pricing for the whole house. I'd have to calculate it." It was surreal and we were ready to tell her off and tell her to leave our home, but we hung in as we were collecting price quotes for comparison. We asked about hardwood floors and Pergo for one room and she rudely blurted, "Do you know how much wood costs? And Pergo is just a brand we do acrlylic floors. Your sheet says you want wood floors not acrylic." She then insisted that we wanted wood, because it was on her paper, and not acrlylic and angrily said she now had to go back to her car to get acrlylic samples. The entire conversation was a battle and these are just a few equally bad examples. We let her know that we would not be ordering today and needed to sleep on it. She then told us to call her direct line when we made up her mind and not the 800 number Empire has because this was her lead, she drove all the way from whereever to be here, and she did not want anyone else stealing her lead! She told us how important it was for her to have her come back so she could write up the sale and handed us her business card. As she walked towards our front door she said "can you open the door for me and hold it because I have a lot of things in my hands." As she exited she said, "don't forget to call my direct number." I thought we were on candid camera because I could not believe that this someone could conduct themselves this way during a business call. I wasn't sure if we were the customer or if they were about to pay us for some unknown service - perhaps being patient (or is it stupid) enough to put up with such rude behaviour! I am not sure where Empire gets their reps from and if they train them at all but, as soon as we shut the door our minds were very clear - we would not, not ever, at any price, use Empire for any of our home needs.

They responded quickly to our inquiries. They came the very next day with samples. The installers were magnificent. They inadvertently gave me the wrong finish on the stairs. We wanted New York style, but they gave us a waterfall finish instead. One of the workers called Empire Today and they said to go ahead and give it to us, which was great. They were in and out. They finished up in no time and did a beautiful job. We would recommend them to anyone we know.

The sales call went well. My salesman was attuned to what I could spend and presented me with some decent options for my budget and a much cheaper price than other quotes. We set a date on the spot to meet my very tight moving schedule before Thanksgiving. The day before installation I got a confirmation call, and I spoke with the person, but we were disconnected before the call was ended. I didn't think to call back since I said yes when she said she was confirming the appointment. I did speak to my salesperson afterward and he agreed to come to my home before installation on another issue. Well I was waiting for the installers and called the office to get a firm time frame, and was told my installation had been canceled because I hadn't confirmed the appointment. I was furious because I spoke to the person confirming! If they had doubt after the call was disconnected she should have called back! The installation manager offered to have it installed another day but my tight schedule only gave me this day of availability. I am happy to report that they did find a way to work it out and I received my carpet that day, although later than expected. While I got a quick apology on the phone, no discount was offered, which was disappointing to me after almost giving me a heart attack! The higher rating was for price and quality. And the salesman was good, although very hard to reach!

I was happy with their price. They did quality work. They were knowledgeable in all areas and knew what to do. They did a very good job of cleaning up after themselves.

The floor and carpeting went fine. We ran into a small problem with the laminate. They wanted to eliminate the bottom baseboard molding. I didn't want to do that so they put my molding back but put this white plastic on also, this looked wrong. I had them to come back and complained about it. They sent someone else out and they asked if I would be happier with it matched. They did get it fixed except for a piece of white molding. They sent out the original worker, but his explanation is the laminate isn't glued down. He suggested painting my wood to match the molding.