Empire Today®

The advertising on TV didn’t match their sales pitch. It was supposed be one price, but after they got done adding everything up it ended up being way more than what they advertised. It’s low grade carpet too.

These guys did a very good job. It was convienient to have them come to our investment property so we could verify that the carpet we chose went with the colors in the house. There was a glitch where something happened to our original salesman (we think it must have been a sudden illness) and the did not have the complete data from the intial visit so we had to remember some of what was ordered. We had worked with the same salesperson a year before so we know that this is not a common occurence. The carpet is high quality and the price was very good. The vinyl florring has a lifetime warranty and looks great. The installers hit an oil line because they were installing carpet in the basement but they had it repaired very promptly. The installers really went above and beyond what they needed to do for us and they left the place very clean. Overall we are very pleased with the job and would use them again

They did good work at a reasonable price. They followed up with us after the installation.

It went very well. They were on time and did a professional job.

I was satisfied with the flooring installer and the work they did. However, I was very unhappy about the carpet installation process.

The salesman spent over an hour measuring the areas. I stated that I was in process of selling my home and wished the "buy one room get two offer". He explained that this offer extended to the base line flooring, which I stated as ok. Interestingly, in one area, the one room cost must have been very expensive, since the three rooms estimated at almost $3,000! He explained that the materials were free, but not the installation. For vinyl in kitchen and hall, laminate in living room/dining room, and carpet in three rooms, the final cost was over $13,500! I could barely speak, and said that I had to get other estimates. He stated I couldn't get it cheaper anywhere else. Thank goodness I took notes, because he took the estimate away from me... I couldn't keep a copy! I asked what the price per square foot was for flooring and he said they couldn't give me that, as they only quoted total price. I asked who made the flooring, he said "All you need to know is Empire. It is made for Empire." I stated that I saw the same flooring at Home Depot and it was Armstrong. He said no, this one was better. He asked where else I would look for an estimate and I stated "Home Depot" would be one, to which he stated that they might quote me a number but they would end up charging me 3x's the estimate. Bad feelings. $7,700 for laminate for a living room / dining room?? I just got another offer for laminate for this same area for $1,700 which included new moldings and steps! I must add that Empire called me yesterday to ask about my estimate and upon telling them my experience, they asked that I contact them before I finalize with anyone else, and they would see if they could match the offer. They are supposed to call me in two days.

Beware of the high-pressured sales tactics. I didn't like the fact that their salesman showed us only tiny pieces of samples since I am not very imaginative and can't tell how the material will look in the house when completely installed. To make matters worse, carpet samples didn't seem clean to me. We were not going to put anything in the house that we did not like 100%. Empire clearly failed to meet our criteria. My recommendation to others who do decide to go with Empire -- (1) make sure that when the installers arrive, you inspect the real material carefully by putting it in the intended space, (2) ask the installers to bring in as much material as you need to satisfactorily give them a go-forward, (3) if not happy, just CANCEL ORDER. They will make their best attempt to wheel-deal to get back into the game -- but just say NO. After all, it's your money.

not well at all. we are in a lower income area, and i'm sure if this had happened in a more prosperous one they would have been more on top of it. they really wore us down w/ just one bathroom. it was costly, and we couldn't fight anything once they finally finished the job

The sales rep was doing a good selling job. After negotiating, we agreed to a price and delivery date. On delivery date, they wanted payment first and would accept credit card over the phone. Since, both my wife and I work, we asked to reschedule and got a Saturday installation date. On Saturday, the installers called and said they would be at our place between 8 and 9am. When they didn't show up by 10am, we called and found out they were stuck in the storm and they asked if we could reschedule for Sunday. We agreed to Sunday installation. The installers came in late (noon vs 8am) and after they got us to sign all the paperwork and credit card receipt, they started to move furniture. Within 5 minutes they came back to me saying there was a problem. The Chicago office has not given them some kind of approval number to start the work. The office is closed and that they will have to come some another time. We called the sales rep who acted surprised for installers to show up on Sunday and reiterated that they don't work on Sundays and they will have to come back another time. After this frustrating experience I advised the Rep to cancel my order and return the deposit. He said to us that do what you have to do and hung up the phone. This transaction was handled in a very unprofessional manner and hence this report.

I had someone from their company come out because I wanted to get an estimate, but I did not use them because they were not forthcoming. Instead of telling you what the figures were, they were telling me about a 60% off and I wanted to see the retail price. He also told me that the discount was on the material and not on the labor and would not put any figures down. I waited for them to have these sales and was looking forward to having the floor done. He was very good at what he does and was a good sales person. He was professional, personable and friendly. He brought samples along and set up everything and also it seemed that he really wanted the job. He answered all my questions and everything was going well until we got down to the figure. I did not find that they were honest because that were not upfront with the price. He was punctual and called and told me that he would be delayed because of the bad weather.

We brought Empire in for a quote after receiving two other quotes from other carpet dealers. They tell you that they will give you a 50% discount like you see on TV and then another 30% if you sign right now today. The price starts out at some ridiculously high number and then they start applying their high pressure discounts to get the price down to a more reasonable level. I guess that was supposed to make me think I was getting a great price. In the end, they were still more expensive, despite their discount program. Quite frankly, I asked them to leave because it appears they were scamming me with the starting price of $24,000 which ended up being $8,400 but only if I signed right then and there. Not a great experience for us.

We went with them for the shop at home features. They told us that they could do our bathroom floor and it would not be a problem. I checked it out two or three times with them because we had a mud-based ceramic tile floor in an old house. Once they ripped out the floor, they discovered that they would have to put in a sub-floor, which would be a plywood sub-floor and they were not bargaining on that happening. They put in a new plywood sub-floor and installed new tiles, but the next day the grout all cracked and when you walked on the tiles they popped. We called them, they came back out, and the installer ripped out the tiles and the sub-floor to redo things and basically said that he could not do the job and left. We were without a bathroom in our house for months, and it was the only bathroom and we have two children. Then, they charged our credit card full price for it and we had to battle with them for months.

They did a great job - carpets look great. However, they were supposed to come on a Friday and weren't able to so they wanted to come on Monday without giving me a guarantee about time. I intended to cancel my order but they then guaranteed the time and gave me $400.00 off of the price.

They were about three hours late when showing up and they were there until about seven or eight at night. Besides that the carpet looks great and they have very reasonable prices.

A salesperson came to the house and I picked out a carpet. We decided on an install date, and they arrived on time. I was surprised when they asked for payment before the installation had even started! That was an arrangement that I was not comfortable with, so they left with the carpet. They never mentioned that was how I would pay. If they had, I would have canceled sooner. I have since started searching again for companies that will work with me.

I had a salesman come over to give me an estimate on carpeting for my upstairs. He was pretty fair as far as giving me the lowdown on price between different types of carpet and helping me to save money on the job, but got very aggressive when I told him I was getting estimates from a few different companies. He didn't want to leave without a sale, and kept pushing for me to choose them and book on the spot instead of talking to other companies. He even said to me, "I don't want to come back out here to sign your contract on another day, it costs me too much money in gas." My feeling is, if you have a good price and a good reputation, you should feel confident that you'll get the business even if the customer talks to other people, instead of pushing yourself down their throat. That's not the way to win over a customer for life. I gave him a refundable $25 deposit to secure a date just in case, but cancelled it this morning because I felt so uncomfortable after the transaction.

It was an excellent experience. I didn't have any problems with them. The men who came to put in the carpet were very polite and worked very fast. They cleaned up after themselves.

It was quick and easy, but expensive. A couple of the workers were smoking and I had to tell them to stop.

They did excellent work. They showed up on time, however the work I needed did not require moving furniture.

It went well. They gave us all their discounts without having to do anything. For example there was a discount for being a member of Sam's Club and I talked him into giving it to me. Had to haggle with him. The selection on carpet colors was not as extensive as we would have liked. Installation did not go properly. They didn't bring the right carpet and we had to wait a while for the proper one to come.

It was very pleasant! The sales guy, Ron, had a great personality, and the technicians that were sent out to install the carpet the next day worked hard and did a great job. We did negotiate about $400 off the price. We looked at Home Depot and a couple of other places first, so we had some prices to compare and a better understanding of what we could negotiate. All in all, we got the same price that we would have from Home Depot, but it was installed the next day (even though the sale was not made until 6 pm on a Friday). As well, Empire was offering an 18 month, no interest, no payments financing option, so we felt that they added more value as long as we could negotiate the price down to equal. I would highly recommend trying to negotiate the price down. He came down very easily.

The salesman was helpful in advising us of a type and color of carpet. However, he apparently measured wrong. The installers had to come back to fill in a 1 foot strip of carpet along the side of the room. There was some confusion about when they were returning, and they missed one appointment and were very late for the second one. It all worked out ok, but wasn't a smooth transaction.

Overall, I was satisfied with the carpet and the installation. I had looked previously for carpet and had a price that I was willing to pay. I had to haggle to get my price, but was satisfied with the price. The installation was well done. The one draw back was that I had to be at home for the entire day to wait for the installers. The time window was from 8am-6pm. They arrived at 5:30pm, but were done just after 6.

EMPIRE HIRED A SUBCONTRACTOR TO COME OUT & DO THE WORK, BUT AS PROMISED, THEY DELIVERED NEXT DAY. THE COMPANY HIRED WAS PROFESSIONAL & DID A QUALITY JOB. ALTHOUGH EMPIRES PRICE WAS A LITTLE HIGH, THEY WERE WILLING TO MATCH THE PRICES OF THEIR COMPETITORS.

WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THE SERVICE WE RECEIVED. THEIR PRICE WAS CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN OUR OTHER ESTIMATE. WE CALLED TO MAKE THE APPOINTMENT AND THEY CAME OUT THE NEXT DAY WITH A VERY GOOD SELECTION OF SAMPLES. THEY GAVE US THE QUOTE THAT NIGHT AND BEGAN THE WORK WITHIN 3 DAYS. THEIR COMMERCIAL SAYS NEXT DAY INSTALLATION BUT WE WERE NOT AVAILABLE THE NEXT DAY, SO THEY SCHEDULED IT FOR THE NEXT DAY THAT WE WERE AVAILABLE. THE SALESMAN WAS VERY COURTEOUS AND THE INSTALLERS WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL AND DID A GREAT JOB.