Checker Cab of Kansas City

It did not "go" at all.  Empire Services did not return calls or I flat could not get ahold of them.  They did not honor the Groupon I purchased from them.

No Call, No Show!

From the first time I called and immediately spoke with someone I had a really good feeling about Empire Services.  I was right too, they were able to schedule me within a week and even willing to work on a holiday.  I was very pleased with the courtesy call I received before my appointment just to verify and even on July 11th when I received a call just to see if I was satisfied with the end result.  Empire Services did such a great job and really surprised me with how thorough they were I will definitely only be using them for future carpet and upholstery cleaning.

We found Empire Services ? carpet cleaners -  on craigs list, and went to the website (empirecleans.com).    We talked to them over the phone and discussed the dog urine conditions and overall conditions of the carpets.   They gave us the price, package, and features over the phone.
The day of the service, May 21, 2012,  they walked the house and did not raise any concerns.   They proceeded with their work.  One thing we were surprised about was the fact they do not use a truck mounted system.  They bring a big unit into the house and move it to the rooms they are cleaning. This is not explained on their web page or when they set the appointment.
After the cleaning things looked good and smelled like a freshly cleaned house should.   As things began to dry the carpet became hard and crunchy, and the urine stains resurfaced.  Then on or about the second or third day the stairs going to the basement, that they cleaned , began to really smell like mold and mildew.   We called them back,  and at first got voicemails.   Finally, after talking to Rich they rescheduled a visit.   They re-retreated and re-cleaned the areas where the spots resurfaced.   They re-cleaned, treated  and suctioned the steps again.  This time they allegedly had researched the issue and talked to some suppliers and applied another deodorizer.
 As a side note ? their cleaning unit blew a fuse in the basement.  That particular fuse had a freezer and refrigerator on the same circuit.   They did not tell us.  Lucky for us, I went to get something and notice the light was not on.  If that had gone on for a day or two we would have had a huge mess.
By dinner time after the second cleaning our entire basement smelled like mold and mildew.   On top of it, our son lives in the basement and we have a home theater in the basement. The point is that it is nicely finished area we enjoyed nightly.   With that said, my son could not sleep down there because the smell was that noxious and bad.   So we called again, and again we got voicemail after voicemail.   Finally I reached Rich and he was out of town and could not get to us until Sunday.   
In the meantime I called our original carpet reseller and installer.  They sent a warranty manager to our house on Saturday.  I showed him the issues and he walked around.  He said the carpet cleaners are not getting the dirt and water out.  He took a paper towel and rubbed it on a spot.  To my surprise it was dirty ? really dirty. 
Sunday comes and Rich shows up by himself.    We walked the area, he acknowledges the smell and proceeds to clean the basement and stairs again - this time he says he is using less water and more suction.   He admits that the operator probably left too much water.   So he leaves.
The smell comes back less than 12 hours.   Call and Call - voicemail after voicemail.   Finally, my wife calls and gets Rich again.   He reseached this and talks to suppliers, as I am told.  He comes back and applies Sporicidian - used for mold and mildew remediation/restoration.  WOW that stuff was extremely noxious.   My son did not live in the basement for 4 day/nights.
After a week, when the chemical smell wore off the mold/mildew smell returned.
After this I tried calling Empire.  By the way the number they have on the business card is a cell number.  They must recognize our phone number because for days we only got voicemail.  Then I began to email them looking for remediation.  Unable to reach them and no return calls I emailed them on June 2, 2012, again on June 5, 2012, and again on June 6, 2012.  On June 7, 2012 I got an email back.
The first email response basically said it is the homeowner?s responsibility to know how to dry carpets and rent professional "air movers".   The email basically said it was not Empires responsibility to dry the carpet.
If you look at their web page you will not find any reference to the customer?s responsibility, drying instructions, or reference to air movers.  Nor will you find this on their receipt or business cards.  Nor did they ever verbally state this on the walk through prior to cleaning or on any of their subsequent visits.
I responded back to the email with the facts I just started with no other replies back from them.
Then I got several bids on replacing just the carpet and pad on the stairs because at this point my son cannot live down stairs, the smell is not going away, and we had to resolve this because it had gone long enough.  Unfortunately the carpet cannot be matched.   My wife called Rich again, around June 10, 2012, to tell him we cannot match the carpet.   Rich said he would talk to his carpet installer and get back with my wife.   Finally, after never hearing back from Rich on June 21, 2012 I left a demand voicemail demanding a plan for remediation. 
I received and email from Rich basically restating that the drying of the carpet is the owner?s responsibility, and we went on to say that they gave us a really good deal and that they did not charge us for the re-visits.   Even though they caused the issue and the fact their web page states 100% guarantee satisfaction Rich believes he did all this out of the kindness of his heart.
I have asked for the insurance company information and they have not provided it.  Big mistake on our part for not getting this before the work was done.
So now I am left with a mold/mildew smell and a huge issue on how to resolve.   To replace the carpet to match it would be $3000-4000 dollars.  I could replace it with wood which may not look that bad.  But the issue is that Empire caused this issue and I am left with the cost to fix it.
I have the receipt, logs of phone calls, and all the emails that backup my historical documentation of this bad experience.
 I am not going to tell you who to use or not to use,  but I will share these facts, and you have to do your homework.    
Lesson learned: 1) it is the owner?s responsibility to dry the carpet despite the fact the companies? negligence in cleaning and extracting the water properly. 2) get the insurance information up front,  3) 100% guarantee doesn't mean literately 100% guarantee, and 4) people are not as sincere as they lead you to believe.