Empire Today

We had empire today install our flooring on our first floor of our house in 2021. The experience started off great with a very quick installation, finished in about half a day and it looked great. After that, it just all went downhill. Within a year, they had to send somebody out to repair a spot of our flooring between our dining room and kitchen that was peeling off at the joints. They also put a threshold which caused our continuous flooring to then have a separation near the spot that it was peeling at. We were told that this threshold would help prevent the problem that we had. About two years later, our floor is peeling and buckling in the same exact spot that they fixed before. It is also buckling throughout various spots on our first floor. I called Empire today customer service to see if they would fix the issue since it had already been addressed before. After several phone calls, I was told I had to pay $150 in order to have somebody come out and inspect it because it wasn’t within the one-year installation warranty, even though they had already fixed the issue before and the same thing has occurred. After arguing about having to pay to fix the issue, I was told that if somebody came out and it was determined it was a manufacturer warranty, I will get my $150 back. We had somebody come out on January 14 saying that it was a manufacturer recommendation that they did not have to put a moisture barrier under the floor we got. About two years after they installed our floor, the manufacturer apparently now says a moisture barrier is required for our floor. After not hearing anything back for a week, I had called two times asking to figure out what was going on. I was told that it could take about two weeks for them to determine something, and somebody would call me back by a specific date, in which they did not. I have waited two weeks, and then I called again asking if there was any information. I finally got in touch with the person assigned to our case and this person told me it could take 6 to 8 weeks to figure out something. Then sometime in February, we had to have another supervisor come out and inspect the floor just for them to take pictures of the affected areas and say the same thing that the first person said. I waited about another week, and then called asking if there was an update. Kept getting told that someone will be in contact with me by a specific date. On March 3 the person assigned to the case finally reached out and said that they haven’t heard anything and they will let us know when they do. we are now 2 1/2 months after the first inspection and empire today still does not know anything from the manufacturer and keeps telling me that they will let me know when they hear something. I do not understand how you have two inspectors say the floors were installed incorrectly and the manufacturer of the floor that we have, now recommends a moisture barrier and nobody can provide me with anything from the manufacturer. With us having these floors for about 4 years, having this issue fixed before and it reoccurring about 2 years later, I feel like the quality and the customer service is absolutely awful. The person assigned to our case, Sharon, also never answers her phone, and whenever you call customer service, they can’t even get her to answer the phone. You can never speak to a manager through customer service, and I have been told countless times that I can request a manager to call me but, most of the time they don’t. I would never recommend anybody have empire flooring install floors at their house. We bought luxury vinyl plank flooring from lumber liquidators for our previous house and that quality was far better than the junk Empire Today provides. I also installed it myself and had no issues with it. That was my first time ever doing flooring.

I purchased a model home in 2021 and paid over $12000 to have vinyl flooring installed by Empire. They hired a 3rd party to install and the installers were ok until they left an oil spot on my new driveway, dropped a dried up dead rat out if their van and swore it was there when they arrived, and tried to leave the job half assed with all of the room transitions being white trim! I had to call repeatedly for this and to get them to add the proper colored transitions on the steps. A year later they had to repair the floor in my office from buckling and fix a piece of floor that they gouged. Fast forward to now and the floor is buckling again in the doorway to my office. They are saying that it is from my office chair 10 feet away! I did not roll my chair through the doorway and feel this is just an excuse for them not to fix. They want me to pay $150 for an assessment. I have reported them to BBB. I will never use them again and this was one of the worst experiences I have had with a company that has been around this long. Really disappointed and the vendors they use are cheap and nasty!

They did a good job and I like it very much. I would definitely hire them again.

Would not recommend Empire ever! Laminate flooring will drink up any spill and swell before you could clean it. The carpet was not the quality shown and cut short as to cause fraying. I take pride in keeping my home clean and in good repair. Of course, the warranty expired just before the problems occurred, and Empire was not interested in looking at the damage much less talking with me! To see the carpet/flooring you would not believe it's been only 3 1/2 years since purchased. If you insist on using this company, demand samples that you can put through any endurance test. Demand to personally and visibly check other customers installation!

We dropped a cool $9500.00 on flooring for two bathrooms, a dressing room, bedroom, kitchen/dining, living room and hallway. Initially, we were quoted just about 9K for the project. Due to Hurricane Florence we had to replace much of the subfloor in our home, so by the time the installers came, we had been living in a torn up home for about a month. When our installation date arrived, we were told that the flooring we had chosen would not work because it didn’t have enough give to be installed. We appreciated the installer’s honesty. This was on November 30, which was a Friday. We had to schedule our salesman to come back out the following Monday to re-select most of our flooring. The installers were able to do the two bathrooms and the dressing room, and that was great. The following Monday, our salesman returned and we selected a better grade flooring for the same price. This impressed us, as did his claim that if we had any issues after installation, we were to call him, and not Empire. We were also told that the flooring we chose would come with an underlayment, which was great. The next day, the installation team arrived and we were then told that the flooring did NOT come with an underlayment, and that we needed quarter inch plywood throughout in order for the flooring to be installed. There went another $500.00! Long story shorter, it was December 10 before the flooring was completely installed. There was trash left in both bathtubs, in the yard, some of the quarter round was missing in a corner of the living room, grout missing between the tiles in the master bath, cement stuck to the tile tops in the dressing room, and our dishwasher was not reinstalled properly, so that if it was loaded, and either rack was pulled out, the appliance would fall forward to the point where the door hit the floor. We waited until after the holidays to try to reinstall the dishwasher ourselves, and when we did, we could clearly see a large portion of subfloor was exposed. Last month we contacted our salesman and told him what was wrong and he said he’d get right back to us. He didn’t. When we call, it goes straight to voicemail. For a lifetime warranty and service after the sale, we feel that this is pathetic, especially after spending almost ten grand on flooring. While the floor looks great and our friends ask who did it, we tell them that we would not recommend Empire for their flooring needs, given the ongoing fiasco we are still dealing with into March!

I ordered Carpet using Mr. Billy Bevan, Jr. 3B Flooring, LLC. The carpet was for Christmas. When the company came to install the carpet on December 20, 2018, they said that they did not move furniture and walked away from the job. They did not install the carpet. Mr. Bevan assured me that the installers could move the furniture, if I removed all “what not.” Mr. Bevan came out to my house on two occasions. I would not have brought the carpet from your company if I knew that the installers would not move the furniture or complete the job before Christmas. The carpet was for Christmas and it was not done. Therefore, I want my contract from Synchrony canceled and my down payment return. If you could not do the job you should not have promised it. The trust in your company is gone. This is a switch and bait.

Run far away from Empire Today!!! I thought that a nationally owned company who spends thousands on advertising would back up their products. But they Do NOT!! Our installers were top notch!! They did an awesome job with the materials that were provided to them. We did NOT receive the product as described by Empire Today. We were promised solid wood stairs and were quoted extra in order to have a solid piece for each step. We also were NOT to have any nail holes. The installer had to piece together the product he was given and had to use nails in order to keep the pieces in place!! Also, the "wood" installed was different wood. Totally different products and colors. The stairs do not match at all. In addition, the product installed all over my home is NOT as described either! I did not want a shine/sheen and it has one. Our salesman was sent back out to look at the stairs and he agreed that it was not as described and indeed was different products and colors. He no longer works for Empire Today. I have spoken with the area supervisor and gotten nowhere. I have repeatedly tried to contact someone in corporate, but they always refer me back to this same local supervisor who refuses to work with me. Find another company to do your work that is honest and upholds their promises and contracts with quality materials.

Knowledgable sales person, pleasant installation crew, efficient great work.

The crew that installed the vinyl did an excellent job and the crew that did the carpet also did an excellent job. Both crews were nice and cleaned up after the install. I will definitely hire them again to complete the rest of our house.

carpet was beautiful. installers were neat and got it done in record time. I LOVE IT

It was excellent.  Left very clean. I just didn't have any complaints.  They did very well.

Vinyl/Tile went well. Carpet I had big issues. I made the mistake of signing the work acceptance and to this date no action has been taken to fix the issues. I paid over $9,000.00 for the work. Once Empire got the money, they took their time in attempting to resolve the issue. They sent and "Inspector." The "Inspector" was the guy that did the work and he lied to me in my face, saying he pre-cleaned the floor and he did not hear the creaking coming from the floor. Only time I saw him bring in a broom and vacuum was when he was cleaning up. I specifically asked the sales person if they would fix the creaks in the floor and I was told they would secure the floor for me and let me know of any issues. The creak is worse than before and the worker said he did not hear it. They also left off the "gold" color transition that I had ordered. They used the old silver that has been there for 23 years. Reluctantly, they replaced it with new transition (3 feet), and more than once the worker referred to the fact that I had signed the contract. He said he cleaned and inspected the floor prior to the carpet install. That is a lie. He said he did not hear the creaking, but told me what could have caused it. That is a lie. The creak is an obvious loud sound on one side of the bed. I told him that I was not satisfied, and he said he would report that to "whomever" and asked me to sign. I'm not signing anything else until it gets fixed. It's been 3 weeks at lease since I had heard from EMPIRE. I highly recommend you go with a reputable local flooring company that uses their own people to install and real quality assurance inspectors to ensure the job is complete and done correctly. Now I have to live with the creaking in the floors for another 10 to 15 years? That's BS............. They have no quality assurance inspections to ensure the work is done properly, but send the contractors that did the work. Do you really think they will agree to redo major work????? I made a big mistake by hiring these folks. If they were concerned, they would have ensured the problem was fixed. It's been more than a month and the issue is not resolved.

They did an Excellent job!!

Because the sales person comes to your home, it's a VERY high-pressure sales situation. We felt VERY pressured into purchasing the carpet. The price was very high.
We called them to check on replacing carpet when we sold our house and we told them right away that we needed to see what needed to be done structurally before we could make a decision. While the salesman was OK with that, I was getting calls a minimum of three times per day until I finally told the people on the phone that if they continued to call me, I would take their name(s) and charge them with harassment. I had been very specific every time I answered the phone and told them that we hadn't made a decision yet, but I promise I will NEVER use Empire Today EVER again.
They are awful to work with and when you pester your potential customers, you're going to lose them quickly!

unknown

They did a good job. So far the work that they did is still holding up.

After getting a quote from different company, we decided to get another quote from Empire Today.  John from Empire came in, measured and provided a quotation.  During the measurement, he mentioned that this is the 'best promotion of the year' that Empire offers.  After seeing the quote vs. what we already had, we decided to move forward with the project.  Later, my wife saw a number of bad reviews posted online and wanted to cancel the job.  We contacted John about our concerns and he put our minds at ease.
I was still a little nervous about the quality of what we bought vs. what we'd receive and how it would look after the install.
We received a call a day in advance of the installation as well as the morning of the install informing that the installers would arrive between 8:30 and 10:30.  They arrived at 8:55am.
I was concerned about seems showing at various high traffic points.  They turned the carpet to minimize any seems in the hallways as well as in the various rooms.  After the install was complete, I couldn't see any seems at all.
They finished the job at 6:30pm and we couldn't be happier with the overall process and the guys who came out and did the installation.   Professional crew all the way around.
Would definitely recommend Empire Today based on our experience.

They were so fast. They did the job within four hours, including moving furniture, tearing out carpet, and the install.  I could not believe how fast they moved and did a beautiful job.  People who have seen it say it’s a nice job and I cannot say enough good about them.

Sales rep came on time and had many options and recommendations after listening to my requirements. He did offer additional $375 savings if I scheduled installation the next week and also the deal was for making a decision that day. I did not feel pressured, I wanted the job done as soon as possible. However I know many people don't like those tactics. The quote was less than what I paid to have the same areas carpeted 6 years ago by a local family owned business. And I think we got a nicer carpet. I financed for 12 months same as cash. The company called on the morning of installation to tell me the installer would be there between 9-9:30. He came on time and finished the job in 6 hours. He was personable and professional. I love the new carpet and would use Empire again. I have a friend in Cary who used them. She got 7 quotes and said Empire had the best price and she also had no problems with installation. Maybe we just got lucky!

Sales consultant was very professional and gave a good price for wall-to-wall, upper-medium grade, carpet/padding with removal/install for 6 rooms with closets, stairway and long hallway without haggling on price. Other carpet company (contract company for Costco) charged $1,000 more for similar grade carpet and played sales game with manager calling several times after sales person left to and quot;give a better dealand quot; after I declined first, second and third offer. Installation was promptly scheduled for following week.
Installers arrived on time and promptly began work; however, only 3 installers were sent from Burlington, NC (45 min drive) and I determined that they were contract installers who were not directly employed by Empire Today. One installer was obviously not experienced, leaving only two installers for a huge job, which the contract installers wanted to finish in one day. Arrived at approx. 8:30 am and worked trying to complete job in one day so they would not have to travel back to finish job. Finally left at approx. 11 pm, after much coaxing by me that I feared they were too tired to perform good work. I had already pointed out several seams that were not done properly showing seam and difference in carpet nap between two pieces. Contract installer returned and hurriedly completed the job in half a day ostensibly to get to another job since I believe they are paid by the job, not by the hour. This created hurried workmanship and ultimately problems with installation. I again pointed out unsightly seams and they said it would and quot;relax.and quot; I tipped the installers although I have never seen such glaring seams in my previous experiences with carpet installation. Later I found where carpet was cut to short in spots and even damaged by utility knife and tacked down.
(***In short: Installation was shoddy. Note that this carpet is patterned and required more expertise to match pieces and lay properly. I feel this team of installers were hastily hired by Empire Today and I drew an inexperienced, and quot;untried,and quot; team.)
One month later, I called complaining about seams and other issues. The Empire Today rep (Burlington, NC) sent two separate installers on two separate weeks (note taking time off work to repeatedly try to fix this), who told me they could not fix problem. The third time the rep came with yet another installer and they finally gave into having to replace the entire hallway and fixing other seams and problems. (Obviously, they did not want to replace carpet but did not mind me having to be repeatedly inconvenienced since I would not and quot;give intoand quot; poor workmanship.) This installer obviously knew what he was doing and did a good job. Although the Empire rep kept telling me all her teams were experienced and they always and quot;askand quot; them if they're experienced...??? I determined that the team used for initial installation was no longer working for Empire Today. I guess I was the test case to judge their installation experience.
Recently I had to call Empire Today again because carpet was not properly stretched and started to show huge bulges. I still can see seams in two separate rooms where I brought this to the attention of the representative when she was here. It was obvious she was not going to replace those two rooms without a protracted ordeal. I was beyond my tolerance level to have them move all the furniture out to do so anyway. Consequently, we live with it! ***Note that installation is only warranted for one year from date of installation. The carpet itself carries a manufacturers warranty which is touted during sales pitch.
***Summary: Apparent good quality carpet at a reasonable price, but be wary of installation provided by Empire Today contractors, especially if you have a patterned carpet that requires more expertise. I will pay more next time and will not do business again with Empire Today. All service calls were met with timely responses, but I give bad marks to the Empire Today representative for not providing a rebate or some form of compensation for the repeated inconveniences other than to apologize.

Installers called before arriving to confirm time of arrival.
Installers were professional and courteous.
Completed installation in a timely manner.

It went very well. They came and did a good job. It was a nice carpet. Another company wanted an additional $1000 for the same. They moved all the furniture and installed it professionally.

We purchased replacement carpet from Empire over two other
vendors. They beat the nearest vendor by $300, the quality of the carpet
was supposed to be comparable, mid-range carpet. Empire advertises discounts
and their salesman sold us on multiple discounts, including next day service
discount. Since he was the last quote we were planning on getting, and we
were ready to move, we went with the next day service and his discount.
Big mistake. First, I was told to expect the crew around 9am Friday morning.
We were called at 9am by the warehouse telling us that 'the delivery truck was
late' due to rain and that the installers would arrive between 11-12.
Great, we are talking a big job, 4 BR, halls, closets, stairs, and family
room. Complete tear-out, furniture removal, carpet install, and furniture
replacement. The crew didn't arrive until 1:30pm after several calls to
find out where the heck they were. On top of that, they sent a 2-man
crew! This was at least a 4-man job. I was assured by the salesman
(whom I also called) and the installers (when they finally arrived) that they
could complete the install that day. The caveat was that it may take till
8pm to complete the job. At 7:30pm it looked like they had two rooms
and steps left to carpet. I asked them how much longer they thought it
was going to take and they said 3 hours. I was stunned. I have
kids, all beds were dismantled, so we couldn't just say stop and restart
tomorrow. 11pm rolls around and they were finally wrapping up. I
did the walk-through at 11:15 and for the most part the carpet looked OK.
Some seams I wasn't terribly happy with, and then I saw one ransition strip
from carpet to linoleum in MBath. There had been 1-1/2 transition strip previously;
they replaced it with 1/2 inch half round that didn't even cover the end of the
linoleum. I could see the end of the linoleum curling up complete with
staples. I asked about it and he said that he had the proper strips, but
didn't have the gold nails to match the strip color, so he used that
instead. Completely unacceptable. He said he'd have to return to
finish the job, I said to cut me a strip. The job looked OK after that
and I let them go. Word to the wise, check everything. I spent my time looking down
at the carpet looking for seams, edges, and carpet related issues. Once they
left and we went to put the blinds down, we found razor blades on window sills,
one blade feel on my wife when she lowered the blinds in our room. We
also found coke and Gatorade bottles on window ledges in two rooms, a monster
energy can in our driveway, the card-board carpet spindle in our garage where
they were cutting the carpet (it was raining), along with lots of fiber that
was never swept out of the garage. They pretty much left the job site a
mess. Finally, when I started putting things back, I noticed some wood
chips under a dresser in the guest closet. The dresser had been placed on the floor molding so
I thought a chip had resulted. When I went to slide the dresser off the
molding, the top of the dresser came off in my hand. Apparently they had
tried to move the dresser using the top as a lifting point and ripped it
off. Never said a word. NICE! One other issue was the quality of the carpet. I vacuumed the carpet and each room filled
my vacuum canister. The carpet sheds loads of fiber. If I drag
my shoe, I can pull a wad of fiber up that looks like a cat’s hairball.
My brand new Stainmaster carpet that I had installed in my previous home never did
this. When I complained, I was told my carpet could shed up to 3-6 months. I may not be
a carpet expert, but this seems excessive and was not my previous experience
with new, quality carpet. I called in the complaint the next day
(Sat), they gave me a complaint number, and said they would call on Monday.
I received a return call as I was writing this review (Tuesday at
2:30pm). They are going to fix the transitions, look at the seams, and they requested
a quote for repair of the dresser. Great, now I have to find a carpenter
to fix things. Not much they can do about the rest of the experience. Next time I will go with
the local mom and pop store and get my quality experience, $300 is worth that much.

UPDATE: March 19th. After Speaking with customer service and complaining we received a call from the installation manager. She assured me that she would schedule a technician to come out and fix the issues we had. To date, no one has come or called to arrange anything. I received a routine call from the corporate office about the service we received. They took my entire story, but always wanted me to give them a rating for each phase. The short, no one has called. I would never recommend this company. They have failed at every level of checks on customer service.

If you are thinking of using Empire - run away - don't walk! The experience when the sales representative first came to provide a quote was really good. I don't normally put a deposit down right away, but I was impressed with the price and the 25 year transferable warranty. Originally I had decided to not only have Empire replace all the carpet but also the hardwood in the foyer entryway and downstairs bath, but cancelled the hardwood after being lied to by the sales representative that they would lift the toilet in the bath and raise the flange and install a new seal after they installed the floor. After I called back to confirm this, this is when I realized I had been lied to and was told now that they are licensed to do this and I would need to contact a plumber. I told the sales representative that this isn't what he told me; he told me to contact a plumber to obtain a cost and he would knock it off the price. I did as he said and told him a plumber is $129/hr so looking at 2hr of work. He said he was only prepared to knock a $100 off the price. I decided not to argue anymore and cancelled the hardwood.
Yesterday, the carpet installers arrive - I guess a better phrase is the empire demolition crew. The sales representative included the cost of moving the furniture in the house in the price, and told me just to move all the other loose stuff throughout the house off the carpets, which I did. What I didn't plan for was for so many items in my house to be damaged. Below is everything that occurred:

1. 1and quot;x2and quot; piece of door frame was torn off wall in master suite.
2. Piece of baseboard moulding was torn off and now missing from top of stairway.
3. Upstairs bathroom (no flooring replaced in this room) now has gouges in the vinyl floor from a tool that I can only assumed was stepped on by one of the workers installing carpet immediately next to bathroom.
4. 2 Pictures nailed to wall in stairway were broken by workers while they took carpet up the stairs for installation.
5. Antique end table now has 1and quot; chip on one of its legs.
6. Dining room chairs (almost all of them) now have dings on legs due to careless stacking. This dining room set has only ever been used three times in 20 years and until yesterday looked in perfect condition.
When I tried to speak to the workers, the answers I got were in non-English. I called and spoke to the sales representative to express my concerns and was indignantly told that and quot;Empire Today had the best installers that money could buy!and quot; Sure the carpet has new carpet, and now it also has damage that I now get to pay to fix, picture frames that now need to be replaced, and furniture that might be able to be professionally repaired.
I wouldn't wish my experience with Empire Today on anyone - no one deserves to be treated nor have their possessions treated the way I was.

Went very well. However quality of product was not what I as expected. Told salesperson of concerns of the shedding fiber car pet and low and behold carpet sheds. Doesnt look like the grade that I may paid for. Installation went very seamless though.