Empire Today

Melissa Antos made my experience great!! She is so sweet, and did an excellent job. My floors looks great!

If you are looking to have to repair damage to your home after a careless install all while paying a higher price than with competitors, look no further than Empire! We went with Empire after being sold on their customer service despite receiving lower quotes from a competitor. Now, numerous emails and two customer service claims to Empire have lead to minimal response from customer service after they damaged our front door and the trim, walls and doors in the room they installed carpet in. Ultimately, we were told the damage was “covered in the contract” and they can offer us an insulting $75. Our front door was scratched to the point that we will need to have it sanded and repainted. The room we got carpet installed in was freshly painted and will now require repainting. We will spend more on paint alone than the $75 offered! The installers left a trail of trash and debris behind to top it off. We’ve been renovating our house for a year and I’ve never had a contractor leave my home in such damage and disarray. I would never work with a company that is okay with leaving this much damage behind and having it be considered standard enough to say it is covered in their contract. There are plenty of other places to go for flooring install, any of them would be better than Empire! You will spend much less time scrolling past Empire in the optimized search results to find a better company for your flooring install than you will repairing everything in your home after they leave.

Not Safe | No Accountability | Horrible Customer Service Sales experience was great; informative, quick, and positive 1st section of install was really impressive; a 2-man team came out and knocked out the installation for x4 stairs, x2 landings, living room, hallway, and kitchen. The work was flawless. Inspector came out to verify their work was done to our expectations and we couldn't have been happier. 2nd section of install was a train wreck; the installer showed up 4 hours late and didn't have all the materials to complete the x10 stairs down to our basement. So they came back the next day (late, again) to finish the work. Later that day my wife and I look at the stairs and immediately see a medley of issues. None of the boards they cut were long enough, which caused there to be gaps between the stair and the walls. Some of the boards weren't cut straight (specifically the 2nd stair down). In some areas, the installer tried to use bright white caulk to fill the large gaps between the wall and the edge of the boards. Overall, it honestly looked like I had tried to do it myself. (It gets worse) We put in a ticket about the issue that day, 5/6/2022, and send a bunch of pictures of the issues as requested by the customer service rep (Tanykia). We were told that the earliest an inspector can come out is 6/1/2022 to verify the botched job. At the time, the issues were purely cosmetic so we agreed to schedule for 6/1/2022. Then on 5/18/2022, the stairs start to come apart! The board at the bottom comes completely loose (not surprised considering the amount of glue that was used), and the top stair starts to separate from the landing. We reported the issue immediately with pictures... no response. So we followed up at the end of the day again, and the next morning, and the next afternoon, and the following day... no response. Finally, on 5/21/2022, we get an email that simply says "I just spoke with you on 05/16/22 and you didn't mention any of these issues. I scheduled you for an inspection for Wednesday 01, 2022 so that we may assess the issue and determine what needs to be done to resolve it." So we call and explain that the stairs started coming apart on the 18th and that it's now a safety hazard. We need somebody out to fix it ASAP. We also specifically requested that the guys who botched the stairs are NOT the ones who come out to fix it. The CSR gets defensive and hangs up. So we call back and they tell us they got someone to come out on 5/24/2022. Come to find out, it's the guys who installed the stairs originally. This company does not stand by their work. They do not care if their installation is unsafe or not done properly. The fact that it has been almost 3 weeks and nobody has come out to inspect the issues, even after the stairs started coming loose, is disgraceful. We tried allowing the company to solve their own issues, but the negligence runs deep. It's not just with a single CSR... it's how they're built. If you do go with Empire, make sure you get the warranty. We did... TBD if it means anything.

They are on time and the job was beautiful.

The service was very good. They were on time, and professional. Their pricing was a little high but I was happy with their service.

I did not have a very pleasant experience from Empire Today.

We were hesitant to use Empire but so glad we did! We had a rep from the carpet guys come out first and he wasn't very knowledgeable and had one carpet to choose from with what we wanted. The next day Empire came out, our sales lady was much more knowledgeable, very kind, and had many options in what we wanted! They have a promotion online that says buy one room, get all other rooms for $50 but of course that's only for crap carpet no one wants or buys so that was frustrating, but she worked with us on pricing and the carpet was installed 6 days later! (It could have been sooner but we chose to wait). We were a little concerned the day before installation because the email said they would come anytime between 8am-6pm, which worried us that they'd come late and not be finished that day. But two men arrived at 820am and were done, cleaned up and moved all of our furniture back by 1130am! It was a very smooth process and I'd recommend them to friends & family.

Charged me for extra footage to fit new hardwood with the old. Ended up installing a t molding instead. Did not fix or refund for the extra footage

Kitchen flooring needed extra work which the salesman implied was included with price but was not on work order and cost an extra $154. The flooring guy was great and explained and showed me all options before I agreed to move with implied but not covered work. The carpet install was more work than estimated and two closets were missed in the rush to finish before 9 p.m. Carpet installer said he would call and be back next week, he was just okay. He never contacted me. I called Empire and it tool them two days to set up appointment. The next carpet installer was great and did the job extremely well. All installers did a great job cleaning up and taking away trash.

I used them before for indoor/ outdoor carpeting on my screened in back porch.

The initial consultation went fine. I felt a bit like being sold a used car but the price was nothing I wasn't expecting. The installation day the sub contractors showed up on time and were nice. They ran into an issue in the hallway that would not allow them to lay the flooring. I contacted my rep who told me he would talk to someone about another option for the floor and get back to me. He did not. I texted the next day and he said he was meeting with installers at 10. Still did not hear back. I sent another text asking to adjust my bill since the flooring wasn't put down, and nothing. 4 days later and I still do not know what is going on and have not heard anything either way. I have a landing that is bare wood and I need the money from the bill adjustment to put down my own flooring. The flooring in the bedrooms was installed, it looks good and they were done in one day. I'm very disappointed that my sales rep refused to communicate with me. This is a large financial purchase for me and every cent matters. All I was asking is to take off the flooring and labor for that area since they don't seem inclined to find a product that would work around the issue. I would not use Empire again.

The workers were very fast, they helped me make decisions with their expertise and the job was done in one day!

Top shelf. They did a great job. They showed up when they said they would show up. The sales gal was very knowledgeable and worked with us on price. Cleaned up their mess. No scratches or dings on any of the furniture they moved. Empire does sub contract. 

They have the best price out there.

I think they did the whole thing well, it was a difficult job because the floor is not even look straight.

Installer arrived and said no, he would not do the install because it was a harder job involving tile. He wasnt comfortable. Sales guy never said anything about any issue when taking my check. Sales even called to tell me they would do it, the installer was wrong. The next day, installation manager said of course they knew how to do harder jobs, but Empire won't to protect their install warranty. Basic, fast jobs only I guess. Fine. Wasted my time, but Fine. They cancelled my contract. Customer service promised to return contract and check. Guess what? They cashed the check anyway! So Customer service also will say whatever to keep your check, get you off the phone, etc. Sales and install don't talk, and Customer Service does not follow through. All runaround. All they want is your money, but there is no accountability. Shop elsewhere!

I had three carpet company estimates. Empire had the type of carpet I was looking for and the best color selections. They also gave me the best price. Empire sold me the type of carpet I was interested in instead of trying to sell me something I didn't want, as other companies tried to do. This tricky installation in my old home took place over 2 days, as I needed a bound edge stringer for my stairway (which had to be taken to a binder). On day one, the first team of installers left behind some concerning installation issues. After a call to the installation supervisor Craig (Osler?) and sending him a few pictures of our concerns, Craig assured me he had a clear understanding of the problems, and promised they would be corrected to our satisfaction on day 2. He sent his best installers out to finish the job, and everything was clearly addressed and resolved. He then followed it up with a phone call to make sure we were happy. Consequently we are very happy with our carpet, and delighted with the installation results. It's beautiful. We realize that problems can and do arise, but what matters is that when they do, they are promptly and cheerfully resolved. Craig demonstrated Empire's commitment to customer satisfaction. He came through for Empire, and we would recommend this company to our friends and family (in fact, we have)!

It didn't go very well in the beginning and I was very displeased with their service. However, today I received a call from them and was told that the kitchen blinds were on their truck and could be installed today. This was completed about 2:15 P.M. and I love the installed blinds and they are what I wanted. Therefore, I am updating my previous review and I have changed my opinion based on the service I received today. I have the right to change my opinion because they did a good job which is what I expected because of the work they did for me previously in 2015 when they installed carpet on my enclosed porch. My updated rating is for today's work only; not what was previously indicated in my review yesterday because those things did occur and I was upset.

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We were not happy with how they did most of the flooring and the carpet. They have their sub-contractors that they call to do the work. There were two different ones for the carpeting and that one worked out pretty well. But the flooring, we had problems, in regards to that. I just wasn't happy with the ones who came out to do the flooring. They did this before the carpeting was put in and they made quite a mess. We had dust all over the place in the house, plus, they took out the old carpeting that was in the dinning area, and in the kitchen area they took out the older like a linoleum type. They took that out and they went down to the bare boards that were underneath. But, after they left, we realized a lot of this had come through onto our basement and made quite a mess, which we weren't aware was going to happen. The bad part was, we had just had our ducts cleaned before they came out and did this work, and we had no idea that this was going to create all the mess that it did. So just having had your ducts cleaned and then having the work done, we felt that probably, if we had realized, we would have had the ducts cleaned after. But I did call them and talk to them and so they did reimburse us for the duct cleaning. The quality was decent. The carpeting seemed to work out well and the laminate, not quite as much as I would probably have preferred. I should have done a little more checking on that. I had a very hard time getting through. When I called them to complain, it was very difficult getting to talk to the right person. The first time I called, I got a woman that takes care of this stuff and she was very nice. When I explained the mess they left downstairs and having had the ducts cleaned, she said they would send us a check for the amount we paid for the duct cleaning. We will probably end up having to have it done again, maybe in the fall and she said that they would send a check out and I would get it in about 10 days. We didn't, and so I had to keep calling back on that and then surprisingly, maybe a couple of months later, we finally did get a check in the mail. But, I had to make a lot of calls and you get put on hold it's not very easy getting through to Empire very often to talk to the right person. Their punctuality was very bad. The carpet person was good. The first day they were supposed to come out, they were supposed to be here in the morning, they arrived two hours later than they said. That's when they really cut up everything and made a mess and so we had dust all over. Then they said they would come early the next day to finish it and they didn't get here until much later than they said they would be. So, we just were not happy with the sub-contractors, on the flooring.

Our family room flooded and we needed to replace our laminate floor with carpet. The Empire sales representative came to my house and showed me sample carpets. I then decided to get a few more estimates by going to Home Depot and Art Vann. A few days later, Empire customer service called me to see if I was going to use their company. I explained that Art Vann had offered me a better deal. Empire stated that they would give me the best price. Because of our flooding issue, we needed a new transition strip from the laminate floor to the carpet as well as matching base boards. The representative agreed to throw this into the contract. When I asked if that could be emailed to me, I was told they only had internal email and the representative would have to meet me at my house again. The next day, the salesman came out to the house and started filling out the contract. When I told him about the transitions and base boards, he stated that he did not think that was correct. He could not call the representative and I ended up reaching her from my caller ID. She agreed that she made a mistake by confusing base boards and quarter round. The salesman ended up spending three hours at my house trying to wait for approval from different people to get the contract complete. Nobody in the regional office would answer or return a call. I finally asked him to leave. A week later, I was still waiting for a resolution and continued to call the regional office with no response. My mother-in-law ended up calling the company and getting the secretary to the customer service manager for the national company. She ended up getting ahold of the regional manager after a day and they agreed to fulfill their promise. You would think, that they would do their best to finish the job with quality and be done with my house however...
I was told this needed to be completed over a two day period. On the Monday, the laminate guys would come out and put in the base boards and on the Tuesday, the carpet guys would install the carpet. When the laminate guys came on Monday morning, they explained that the carpet should be completed first and left without doing any work. On Tuesday, when the carpet installers showed up, they demanded full payment before they would complete the job. I explained that I was not going to pay in full for a service that was not completed especially with all of the problems I had. They walked out of my house and said they would be back in the afternoon if I decided to pay, AND stated the base boards and transition strip should have been installed first. I ended up calling the carpet guys back because they were extremely nice gentlemen. They came back to the house and installed the base boards and transition strip. The carpet guys did return. When the "boss" walked in, my 15 pound dog started barking and he told my dog to be quiet. I ignored his rudeness because I just wanted to be finished. His partner went downstairs and started complaining and cussing about the baseboards and strip. I stated, "you told them to do this first even though we were told to do it last by the laminate guys. The "boss" yelled at his partner stating that he does this everyday for hours and should be able to figure it out. Needless to say, they completed the job. When I went to inspect their work, I visibly noticed seams in the carpet and nails popping out of the transition strip. When I pointed this out, the "boss" told me that he has done this for 20 years and he did a good job. When he handed me the contract to sign off on his work, I wrote down the issues that I saw. AND it took another 2 days for the installation manager to come to the house and agree there were issues with the work and after filing a no follow up grievance with customer service and my credit card company, they finally sent the laminate guys back out to fix what the carpet installers ruined. When I expressed the fact that I wasted 5 days of my life, they refused to offer a discount.

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I have used this company before and usually have a satisfactory experience. This particular instance, my bi-folding closet doors were removed as they were installing flooring in the closet. Once complete, they put one of the doors back on, but not the other. He stated I needed to go to a hardware store and buy a new screw to put my closet door back on. When I asked why he could not, he stated he did not have time for that. The attitude he displayed was unsatisfactory to me because it was as if I was wasting his time! Although they've done good work for me before, I will not use this company again because I have no control over who comes to my home and would rather not work with the staff who came out this time.

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