Empire Today®

I needed a new kitchen floor and was unable to go to the stores to go shopping. So I called Empire and a salesman by the name of Alan Fox came the next day. He could not have been more helpful. They do not leave samples, however the day I was pulling together the cabinet and counter people he came over with the flooring and I was able to select the flooring I wanted with confidence. I must add that their selection is not extensive, however they did have exactly what I wanted. I was a little anxious as I have not used a company like this before, but Alan was so reasurring that I went ahead and scheduled it. The installer was Mack Rowley. He could not have been better. He kept me informed at every step. When decisions had to be made he gave me all the options. The floor was installed beautifully and level with the adjoining room and hallway. I could not be more pleased with the work or the people who did it. They were punctual, clean and did great work.

The entire experience with Empire was very positive. We had a sales representative come out on a Saturday to provide us an estimate. We worked with Rick McDowell, who was punctual, professional and gave us a great deal on carpeting for two bedrooms, a staircase and hallway. The install was scheduled for two days later (on Monday). The crew arrived on time, was efficient and got the job done in a few short hours. They hauled away all the old carpeting and had the place clean after the job was complete. The new carpeting looks great and we couldn't be more pleased with how the whole process went from start to finish. We would definitely consider using Empire again in the future.

The people at Empire Today went out of their way to make me happy. They more than met my high expectations. Bottom line: The carpet is beautiful, and Empire's expertise and installation workmanship was excellent. I will definitely call them again in a few months when I am ready to replace the carpet in the master bedroom.

The quote was for $2500. The salesman they sent out seemed to be really new and unknowledgeable. He made phone calls and got the information. He was really relaxed. Everytime I had a question he wanted to pick up the phone and ask someone. We are still considering them, though.

We were very happy with the job they did. Empire Today was there a very long time and did a great job. They came back and fixed the one thing there was a problem with which I thought was great. They had removed the carpeting as well because our dog had had accidents. This was arranged in the original contract. When the removed the carpeting they found there was another layer of flooring below. That flooring was very uneven and bumpy. They just started removing that flooring without asking me for more money. They were very good, I wanted to pay them for the extra work, but they didn't ask me for more money. They did great work. The odor is gone from the room. They also used a glue that didn't have an odor. The floor is nice and smooth and even and should last about 20 years. What we got from them far exceeds the monetary value. They had very low pressure sales and great customer service.

Sales process was fine. Scheduling installation was a nightmare -- they didn't show up on time for the installation, then when they arrived they didn't have enough material for the job. The carpet (a berber) has subsequently unravelled in a couple of places. We have had them out twice to fix those problems. Will never use them again.

The salesman came to our house within a day of our call, did all the measuring, and showed us some options for the flooring we were interested in. He did a good job at giving us the information we needed to make our decision and did not pressure or rush us. The deposit was $25 and he told us not to sign the final papers until we were completely satisfied with the installation. Both the salesman and installers were very punctual. There was an issue when the installers wanted us to pay the entire sum before the work was started, which we said was not acceptable. An Empire manager was called, who also wanted the entire sum, but then backtracked and said that since we were paying by credit card, we could pay at the end of the job. The installers did an excellent job, the carpet looks great in every little corner. I am very impressed with their work. I was very hesitant to go with Empire after reading tons of bad reviews online, but we had a tight deadline and I think they did a really good job. They vacuumed the carpet and cleaned up before they left, so I was very pleased with the way they left things. I am concerned about the reviews that said the carpets look terrible after a few months, but I am only one week in so I can't comment on that. We didn't buy the top-of-the-line carpet but so far it looks great. I gave them an A for price, but we didn't do much comparison shopping and I suspect we may have done better elsewhere - but like I said, we were under a very tight deadline.

We just bought a new house and had tight deadlines on moving and getting work done prior. We had one bedroom carpeted. The sales person showed up at the property at 5 pm on Friday and the carpet was installed at 8 pm on Saturday. We mixed up our meeting time with the sales person and he actually hung around for 45 minutes before we arrived (on a Friday before a long weekend, no less). The sales person answered all of our questions, had samples of the carpets, and was very patient with us as we chose the carpeting. The carpet was installed professionally - no complaints, quick and completed within 45 minutes. If there is a negative to mention, they did not put carpeting down in the closet in the bedroom (not sure if we had to request that). He did give us a section of carpeting to put down ourselves. Overall, we were happy with our experience and would use them again.

I called the 800 number and got a pleasant woman in a call center who sheduled my in home estimate for the following day, between 1:00 and 3:00. I told her I did not want next day installation as I would be getting additional estimates, and she said that was fine. The representative arrived promptly at 1 the next day. He brought in 2 sample books of laminate flooring and one of hardwood. He had very little to say about the products, and did not seem particularly knowledgeable, but was pleasant. The brand is Mohawk, and there is a 30 yr warranty. He did not talk to me about cost per square foot, but said he would measure the kitchen and give a single number. My kitchen is 12x11 feet approximately. His estimate was $1700 to put laminate on top of my existing linoleum. He assured me that yes, install was free, this was just the cost of materials. This works out to $12.90 per sq foot. To use prefinished hardwood would be $2100 on top of the existing floor. Labor to pull up the linoleum would be $500. Then he began assurring me they would match other prices, and that I had nothing to lose by signing a contract with him today. He said he could call his manager and see if he could get a better price. It became clear his agenda was to have me sign a contract right then and there. I didn't do that, and he didn't have much more to say, but remained pleasant as he packed up his stuff and left.

The local sales person seemed inexperienced and incompetent. The prices were not competitive, and he wasted two hours of my time.

I only wish I had read the previous member's review. I only called this company because I was in the car and remembered the jingle, in addition to their assurance that next day installation was possible. Carolyn from the local office met me at my rental unit on 9/29 to pick carpets and measure rooms. The installation did not happen the following day as the van and my carpets were stolen (?). I did receive apologies from the local installers, but got NO return phone calls after the carpeting that arrived the next day was too small. The installers were competent and gave me better customer service than the sales agents. The install did happen THREE days after the order was placed, delaying painters, cleaners, and my tenant's move in date. Multiple complaints to Empire Carpets have been unanswered. My local agent called three days after the install to apologize and tell me that normally she doesn't suck at her job, but has no authority to reimburse me (and my tenant) for the hassle. I fully expect to place them in Angie's penalty box by the end of the week.

We called Empire around 8pm; they offered to have a sales guy do an estimate the following morning at 8:30am, and we took them up on that. The sales guy brought the samples and did the measurements; he was nice and personable, and not pushy. We decided to go with Empire; they said they could have it installed the next day. While they said it would be a half-day project with two installers, it turned out to be 1 installer for a full day project. The installer was very nice and professional, but struggled to communicate in English. He did have to run to Home Depot in the afternoon to get supplies (more glue, I think), but otherwise came prepared and the work was excellent.

The sales person was very late and took him over 1 hour to discuss replacing the carpet in one room. There was no room for negotiation of the price of carpet. Sales person explained that they had discontinued using the style of carpet so he called two people to confirm that there was enough in the warehouse, which there was. The installation happened two days later and the installers called ahead to give us a 2-hour window. They showed up on time and showed me the carpet to confirm. Then they pulled out some cheap padding, which we didn't want so we ended up not using it; we kept the better quality padding which they had installed last Fall. Installers were quick and did a decent job; cleaned up after their work; hauled away the old carpet. I called corporate to see if we could get credit for the padding which we did not use, but they explained that the padding is always included in the price and is not a separate line item that they can credit us on. They also explained that the carpet that they had installed last Fall was not one that was warranted for the Berber carpet, but that we shouldn't worry since Empire Warranty would take care of the product even if the manufacturer doesn't. I guess we will have to take their word for it. Overall, this is the last time that we use Empire. We were happy with them the first time, but the second time around, the experience was lousy due to the sales person and "corporate". We ended up paying about $4.50/sq.ft. for not-so-premium carpet with no padding. We still have 1/2 a house to change the floors on and we will look for another vendor who is more interested in superior customer service.

They are awful; tell people not to let them in their house. They advertise next-day service; it ended up taking much longer than that. They were unresponsive. They mismatched the carpet. They actually physically destroyed some of the basement when they installed the rug. The man who was in charge of the job could barely speak English. When I told him not to do something, he pretended to understand and kept doing it.

I was not happy with them. I had specifically asked a question about the doors in the room and the height of the carpet, and they told me that it would not be a problem. It turned out to be a problem and they had to send people out to shave the bottom of the doors off, which was a royal pain in the neck. They were respectful and nice, but incompetent.

I called Empire and Luna to get estimates. Each sent someone to my house. Both individuals were very professional. I explained that the purpose of the carpeting was to make the basement seem like a more "lived in" space for a potential home sale. The bid from Empire was more than $1,000 less than the bid from Luna. The bids came on a Saturday and Empire was able to do the installation the following Monday (Luna was not). The empire crew showed up and completed the job in just over three hours. It looks fantastic.

Price quoted was $850-higher than I expected but they would install it the next day. Well that never happened-I waited all day for them to show up(I had an open house scheduled for the following day). I started calling at 5:00 pm and was told they were still on the road and they would be there. I called again at 7 pm and was told the same thing. The sales person who was at my house the previous day telling me "no problem we can install it tomorrow" was nowhere to be found. Even though they never showed up, they did charge my credit card the full amount. They later credited my account. I would never use them for anything.

I liked that they had next day installation service for all of their carpet. They came to my house to show me the samples. They showed up in the morning to install the carpet and they did not stop until they left at 5:30 pm. They walked me around to make sure I was happy. We negotiated with them about the price.

They did a very good job. The salesman came as scheduled and had samples of all the rugs as well as recommendations. He was polite and very professional. The installers came and did a good job, even staying late to figure out some tricky configurations in the basement. I didn't like their pay in advance policy. Three years later, the basement still looks great.

They were very professional in their work and were very quick with getting everything done. They seemed to do a pretty thorough job to me. I was very satisfied. They cleaned up after themselves, and it was a good experience.

The salesman arrived on time for his appointment, and was extremely courteous and professional. He provided samples and estimates, and worked with me on a variety of options. The installer arrived on time, also, and was amazingly professional in his work: he cleaned up after every step of the install, worked straight through from 8AM - 3PM, and checked with me at intervals to get my input. He took great care in moving furniture and replacing it. The floor looks terrific, the price was decent, and my experience with Empire Today was outstanding. I would definitely recommend them!

Called the number on the AL magazine, came right away, on time and very helpful. The price was a little higher than my budget. I went with someone who was also well recommended on Angie's List. ($1,740)

They worked hard. There was a problem that they had to come back and fix. They used sub contractors that Empire backs up so you go through them to get a hold of the company that does the work. The estimate was unreliable. she was 3 hours late and didn't apologize. I never received a phone call informing me of their tardiness. The floors do look beautiful, but there were a few problems like glue left on transitions. The seller on this company is the financing which 0% for 18 months. So if you can deal with the tardiness, the financing averages it out. I would use them again in some cases but I would definitely research other vendors.

About the only good thing I can say about this company is that they answer their phones and show up when they say they will. Unfortunately, the salesperson who came top my house was a crook working on commission who vastly inflated the square footage of carpet needed. When the installers arrived, they roll of carpet they brought only had about 60% of the sq footage I had paid for (and was more than adequate). When I called after the installation to point out that they had charged me for considerably more carpet than they had even bothered to bring to the job, all I got was a run-around, with claims the the "manager" was out of the office and would return my call (which he never did). After about two weeks of playing this game, I finally initiated a charge-back through the credit card company. That finally got their attention and they finally refunded the amount over-charged. The quality of the work, particularly on the stairs was terrible.

They were out for a quote very quickly. The man that came out did what he could to save us money. They did a good job and we may use them again.