Empire Today®

We were about to go ahead and have them do the flooring and we signed the contract and everything and we were going to have them do the flooring in house. Something wasn't sitting right with us as far with the salesman because he was just seeming very secretive and he wasn't giving us the full disclosure of what the service would entail and so we ended up canceling the service and unfortunately he didn't get his commission that day. We just were very very unsettled about the whole situation after the facts so we ended up canceling it. I had my father-in-law drive all the way over there. He came out with the quote. He didn't give very many samples to look at. He just automatically would show us the high-end stuff and he would say you know ill give you a discount on this you don't tell anybody. I just felt not at ease with him. When I explained to him the reasons why we have to cancel was mainly because I was undergoing a lot of cancer treatments and we had to take care of the bills that come in the most recently. He didn't even seem sympathetic at all. I do not even think we are going to go back to them to be honest. He was just more concerned about making the sale than my welfare. I know it is not his problem but at least show some kind of bedside manner. It is hard to make a judgement call but we were looking at the rating that were on the internet and a lot of them are from 2009 to 2013. I had not seen anything yet from 2014 but everything was pretty much the same like the salesman just kept pushing the more expensive stuff and then the people that would come in to install they didn't seem like they were experienced, window was damaged that was done after the service was completed. The owners would have a hard time getting somebody out to repair it. He is just on and on about the same thing especially since my salesman was like I had the same characteristics as who ever they were mentioning in their reviews. I don't even really want to talk to him about this. The reputation that they have is awful. I don't think that Empire is on Angie's list but I hoped that they are not because it is just too bad. I grew up with companies like Empire. I really expected a lot more from them. We didn't have any problems canceling and getting our money back. My father-in-law lives in Chicago so he just drove straight to the legal depart and said you know we want to make sure that this goes through. They didn't give us any problems at all. The salesman is weird because the salesman called me and he is like so you canceled the order. It is not that I have to explain anything to him but I was like I have a lot of medical bills and because I am undergoing cancer treatment and he is like oh you do not have to do the whole house, you can just do the main level. You do not have the cancel the whole thing and I am like no. We are going to take care of this first and then if anything crops us I will let you know and he was like very very pushy. It turned to be a lot more expensive actually than Home Depot quote because Home Depot had like I mean we picked out some really nice tiles too. They were going to do the bathrooms, the foyer and everything. They came out with a quote with for like 10 grand and Empire came out a quote for 28 grand and then all of a sudden he had this special deal that brought it down to 13 grand. I do not know where that came from. May be he was told to make it sound like it was snooze or weave type of deal. He was pretty responsive once he found out that he was not getting the sale.

They were very professional, and cleaned up after they were done. They did a great job.

Everything went fine, no problems. I love my new kitchen floor.

They're phenomenal. The quality of the service and the follow-up of customer service stand out the most. They're detective and they provide a very high quality service.

The salesman was very knowledgeable and personable. Other reviewers said they felt the salesperson was 'pushy,' but we did not feel that at all. Cost was not out of line with other estimates, and the whole "next day installation" thing was very attractive. The hardest part for us was getting furniture and other stuff off the floor in the 6 rooms we were having recarpeted by the next day. We did it, however, and the installer showed up on time. Spent all day installing the padding and carpet and was very professional. It was beautiful when all was said and done...the only thing I would do differently would be to choose something a little darker. The color in the little swatch looked like it would be perfect, but it turned out to be lighter than I hoped. Four years in (has it been four years?), the carpet is wearing well and is putting up with the rug shampooer and frequent vacuuming. Now that I'm thinking about it, if I had to do it over again, I would've gotten a high-quality laminate in some of the more frequently used rooms, but I would not hesitate to use this company again.

The salesman was very prompt, listened thoroughly to my situation and was helpful in suggestion appropriate products for my home. He also offered me a very competitive price (I had four quotes done for the same work; his was the second lowest, and not by much.) However, to make my quote good for more than one day, I had to give him a $25 deposit and actually schedule the installation for about a week later. At this part of the estimate, I felt like he became quite a bit more pushy than he had been before. He was a good salesman (as in, probably brings in a lot of money for his company), but I don't appreciate pushy sales tactics and for that reason I had mostly determined that I would not be using Empire Today by the end of the visit. However, I did pay him the deposit just in case his estimate beat others by a lot of money. Getting my money back was simple. I had to call Empire Today and was connected to a customer representative within a few minutes. I spoke to two different reps, and the call took about 20 minutes total, but I did not feel pressured by these men to not cancel. I appreciated that, since I was worried from what the sales rep was like. I haven't received my money back yet (7-10 business days), but if I do not get it back or if I have to make another call to get it, I will update this review.

The experience was wonderful from the beginning to the end. Highly recommend!!

First of all, you have to separate and quot;providerand quot; into three categories - the company, the salesman, and the installers. The salesman was on time and very knowledgeable about the products he was selling. There was a small error in information transmitted to the bank, but it was corrected quickly. He also got us scheduled for floor installation 2 days later. The company, Empire Today, failed to insure that the installation happened as scheduled. They failed to update their information, from 2 days earlier, to insure that the installation occurred on time. With the help of a very nice woman at Empire Today's HQ, it all got figured out. It would have been nice for it to have happened earlier so that my floor would've been installed on time. The installers got to my house 30 minutes late and immediately wanted to be paid COD. The reason why the installation was delayed was a mistake, on Empire's part, regarding the financing, and now the installers want to be paid COD? After waiting about 30 minutes for them to get updated information, they began working and man they were quick. In the end, our floor is beautiful and we are happy..

They had a promotion for buy one room's worth of flooring and get the other rooms for free. I'm not happy with my flooring because it has started buckling. I feel, although it may not be the case, that because of the promotion they gave me an inferior laminate. I will be most likely contacting them soon for them to come and repair.

Sales associate was 40 minutes late for a two hour estimate appointment. He blamed the company for giving him to much work which made him late. The salesperson was not interested in what I needed nor offered any deals from the company. He gave estimate over priced and only wanted to know how quick he could have our money. The salesperson was not only late but very poorly dressed with a miserable attitude coming to my house. I am very disappointed and would not recommend this company to anyone.

We called a service person who had worked with our son a couple of years ago. She provided the name and number of the associate in our area. We were promptly contacted and arranged to meet for estimates and choices. Excellent service from the representative, very knowledgeable and helpful with carpet and hardwood choices. Measured all areas and gave detailed estimate for removing old flooring and installing new flooring. We scheduled the installation the same day we made our final choices and purchase. We were kept informed via e-mail and phone call. I called the 800 number for a little info prior to installation: the representative was very helpful, cordial and efficient; answered all the questions. Technicians arrived on time; went to work immediately; totally efficient, excellent work, courteous, responsive to questions, All work was completed to our satisfaction. We love the new floors. Tech cleaned up all areas after working. We are very happy with our purchase and with the installation, final product improves our home's comfort and beauty.

It went good and it turned around a fast installation which is what we're looking for. They could install it very quickly within a week; we had them out there to look at them. The service was good.

I received an In home quote by an Empire Today salesman. He was very nice and professional. Scheduling was difficult for us but he was able to work with it. The installers showed up on time ready to work. After they received payment they went to work. The installers removed what was left of the old carpet and padding and moved some furniture to get started. New carpet was rolled out in the dirty driveway and rough cut to fit out there. I'm just glad it wasn't raining or else I guess I would have got wet carpet. The crew seemed professional although in no way reflected that in there appearance or behavior. Installation seemed to go smoothly although I was not pleased by how rough it was. The salesman told me there maybe scuffs on the baseboards from installation. I found they were using what seemed to be large chisels to tuck the carpet into the edges of the room. They would jab it down in the crevice with a heavy blow. Often they missed the carpet and hit my baseboards taking out a chunk of it every time they missed, which was a couple times per wall. I also noticed paint was scraped off on the outside corners of some walls and on casing of the doors when they took rolls of carpet in and out of the room. The job was supposed to take two days however they were able to get it installed in one day that lasted 12 hours. I'm not sure if that was better or not but not having them there two days probably was best. After installation I noticed that they never installed padding in any of the bedroom closets except the masters walk in closet. I'm not sure if this is the industry standard or not but I assumed every carpeted surface would have padding under it especially since we paid for upgraded stain resistant padding. I can't say if empire today is better or worse than anyone else, this is just my experience.

Salesman was courteous and professional, but the cost estimate was twice what we ended up paying. We also did not get a per square foot cost- the estimate was not broken down so you could compare. Salesman was very informative about the product. We were kind of talked into signing the contract that day, and cancelled the next, after getting other estimates. The phone operator promptly canceled the order with no problem, but I am waiting for the $50 deposit to be refunded to my credit card.

They were very professional and it was very orderly. The woman came in, we had a discussion about what I needed for my carpeting and then she put order in. The pricing was perfect and everything was done really well. The workers were very professional and they cleaned up after themselves.

Overall, I am fairly satisfied w/the job. There were a few things I wasn't too sure about. 1) You usually read that the flooring needs to sit in the home for a few days to acclimate. This did not happen. Granted, we were using engineered flooring, so maybe it is more stable and less of an issue. The trade off is that the flooring team came in and got the job done. 2) There was a spot by the fireplace surround that ended up being very unstable. I had to make a call to have them fix that. I felt that the flooring crew were rushing at the end of the day, so perhaps they didn't pay attention to that detail at that time. However, Empire was very responsive and sent someone out to take care of the issue right away. Some positives: 1) The flooring crew found damage to the subfloor near our front door. It was not a large area, so the person in charge of the crew said if I went to Home Depot and get small pieces of subfloor and nails, he would just go ahead and fix it. We're talking about maybe 3 or 4 square feet of damage max. He instructed me on what to get, I purchased the items, and he fixed the floor. He showed me what he fixed before they laid the flooring down over it. He was extremely responsive. 2) When the crew head showed me how the stair nose was thicker than the flooring and would make the stair uneven, I was not too happy about that. He did not want me to be unhappy, so he found a way to shave down the stair nose to make a smooth transition. That was extra work that he didn't have to do. Some negatives: 1) Empire only carries quarter round instead of shoe moulding. I really prefer shoe moulding. It is a slimmer profile and looks cleaner to me. I didn't really have the means to run out and get shoe moulding for the crew to install, so I'm putting up with the quarter round. 2) If you are very detail oriented and want things done like leveling the floor, Empire is not for you. Overall, I'm fairly happy. I would say the price I got was competitive w/sourcing similar flooring myself through a place like Lumber Liquidators and finding a separate contractor to do the floors. We went w/Empire because of their warranty on the labor. Being able to call in w/issues after installation and having a prompt response is definitely a plus. You do need to negotiate because they definitely gave a high number at first.

The salesman provided a in-home price estimate after measuring the two bedrooms needing carpet. I instructed him that we were in the process of selling our condo and only required a very basic carpet replacement. He then only showed me high price carpet options. I would ask for the price per square yard of the options and he would only give me the total number, making it difficult to compare the carpet with other carpets I had picked out from other sources. I picked out one carpet, unsure about the value of what I was receiving. Over the course of the consultation he exhibited high pressure sales tactics. After I put the deposit down and he left I looked up the carpet and its cost per square yard. I then discovered that an equivalent carpet was approximately HALF the cost from other sources, such as Home Depot. I called the salesman back and told him that I would like a discount on the carpet as I was unhappy with the price I paid. He then negotiated the price down about 500 dollars.....which shows the incredible markup he placed on a tiny job of only two bedrooms. The price went from about 2,300 dollars to 1,800. The salesman also proceeded to curse at me over the phone over the course of the negotiation. It was the most ridiculous customer service I have ever experienced. I was completely calm on the phone when talking to him. The installation began the next day and went very smoothly, but at that point I was so put off by the entire experience.

The salesperson/estimator who came to give us the quote was outstanding..... knowledgeable, very professional and precise...the installation crew was top notch, very careful and precise installation, efficient removal of carpet and clean up-- work was completed as promised in 1 day.....

Salesman was punctual and we were able to bring the price down however he told us it would be COD which is fine except that we wanted to not pay the whole amount until the job was finished the way we wanted it done. When the installers showed up they would not even START the installation until we WIRED the money into their account which #1 was not the way we were told it would go and #2 a terrible way to do business. We had no recourse if the job was done badly and it was very difficult for the installers to have to tell us that. The job was done well, the installers were good and professional. The carpet is cheaper than what we expected from the sample and we would not buy it again but since we are moving, it's OK for a transitional floor covering. Too expensive for the service and the business style truly sucks.

They replaced a linoleum floor in the kitchen~10x10, powder room~2.5x5, kitchen nook ~3.5x4.5. They came out on time, assessed the space and gave us info on the installation. The installation was scheduled for 2 days later. These people were also very prompt. They removed the old flooring and replaced it. They were very efficient and I am very satisfied. Everything was done well. No complaints.

They came out, showed us samples and delivered and installed the carpeting the next day. The installation went well and was easy. They were the least expensive out of three estimates we received.

It went very well. Very professional. Very good carpet.

I had them here four time in a period of thirteen months. The last time I used t hem in July or August of this year. They are very consistent, their people are quality, they know what they are doing. They do it without marring the rest of my house. They were very gentle on the house, they did an excellent job. They installed four different type of flooring. Luxury vinyl tile, hardwood, wood composite which went over concrete floors, and then I had vinyl flooring. They gave me a window which was very precise on when they would arrive.

We thought that we should get at least one other bid from another carpet firm. We obtained from Angie's list the name of Carpet Express, In Rockville Maryland. (It is my intention to file a separate review for Carpet Express, once their installation has been done.) With a 10 percent discount coupon which we obtained from Angie's list, we visited Carpet Express. We were the first customer in the store that morning, and we spoke to salesperson Hamid. Hamid was also very personable, professional, and competent. Hamid helped us select an inexpensive berber carpet. He computed the price with pad and installation as a little less than the $602 contract we had from Empire Today, but with the discount coupon it came to around $537. My wife said if we could have it for $500, he could have the contract. With only a moment for thought, Hamid said he would accept our price "because you are our first customer today," and we completed the contract. Subsequently, we called Miguel at Empire Today, to cancel that order and to get our $100 deposit put back onto our credit card account, as Miguel said we could. Miguel immediately accepted our cancellation with no questions asked. He said he would order the refund that day, 10/23. On Friday 10/25, someone called from Empire Today to "confirm [our] order" for installation the following Monday, 10/28. When told of the previous cancellation, the person transferred me to another line to effect the refund. This person said they had no record of the cancellation, but they would indeed cancel the order, and she gave me a cancellation confirmation number. That was 10/25. Today is 10/31, and we still have not received the $100 deposit refunded to our credit card. Tomorrow, I will call Empire Today to follow up. UPDATE: This is an update to my review submitted 10/31/2013 (yesterday). As of this morning (11/1/2013) my credit card account is showing the refund of our $100 deposit. (Last night at about 9 PM, the refund was not yet showing as having been made -- 8 days after I first cancelled the order, on 10/23/2013.)

Installers initially wanted ME to get the rest of my stuff outside (L shaped desk, tv cabinet and bed). Said they don't do that. I said that was part of the price I was quoted and that I was told by the salesman that is part of the installing carpeting business and that I just needed to make sure all the small stuff was out and the few things I mentioned above were okayed by him, even if you need to pay additional. As they called their supervisor I called my Salesman. After that was cleared up everything was great. As far as price, I never bought carpeting before and considering my time restriction and last minute decision I thought it was okay. I assume the service was done by the provider, there was no name or advertising on the van.