Empire Today Reviews Flooring and Installation

11 thoughts on “Empire Today Reviews Flooring and Installation”

1. We just had Empire put laminate in the living room and hallway and carpet in 3 bedrooms. We had decided on a price, but was not approved by their financing company. So I obtained my own financing from the bank. They came down from the original price to what I could afford and it was a fair price. The installers were prompt, patient, worked very hard. It was supposed to be 2 crews, but actually only 2 guys showed up. But they installed everything in one day, were professional and patient. They moved heavy furniture and put it back. They hauled off all the old carpeting and left us the leftover laminate and carpet. We had a great salesperson who was also patient and helped us greatly with the pricing.
   We had Empire install vinyl tile in our kitchen, dining room and bathrooms last year and we love it. We are in Georgia, though. I think the complaints above were a couple of years ago and in other states. They may have better sub-contractors here.

2. At first we were very happy with our new laminate flooring from Empire Today, with both the quality of the wood and the install was quick and relatively painless. However, as time wore on, we started noticing the laminate loosening up in the middle of the room. After about a year, it started buckling, and over the last six months has buckled up over 4 inches off the floor to the point of breaking at the seams.

   Repeated calls to Empire Today customer service has led no where. They’ve promised to come look at it, but never show up. Corporate always has to defer to the local office where we find a black hole. Calls to the local office always transfer to corporate. We finally got a general manager on the line to tell us it’s not thier problem anymore because it’s beyond the 1 year installation performance period. I said okay, but I still need it fixed even if I must pay for it! Manager promised a call-back, and guess what… I have not heard from Empire since.

   I’ve now had multiple other flooring companies out, and they all claim it was a botched install because the Empire Today installers did not leave any expansion room. They cut the laminate all the way up to the baseboards, and now that it’s expanding some, it’s causing the buckling in the least point of resistance, which is in the middle of the room where there is no furniture.

   Now I’m having to pay ~$3,000 for another installer to pull it all back up and relay the laminate, and it’s not Empire Today since they will not stand by thier poor craftsmanship.

3. I’m sorry to hear all the negative comments. However I do feel a bit better knowing I’m not the only one that got screwed.

4. I’m dizzy from all the double talk from costumer service and so disappointed. Felt like I was in the twilight zone. Actually felt like I was talking to my kids aka the wall. Do your homework first. Empire is not looking out for your best interest. Typical big business. I would not use them again. I didn’t realize I was suppose to haggle with them for a descent more reasonable price. Next day delivery enables you the three days to cancel your order if you felt you couldn’t say no face to face or needed more time to let the transaction sink in. Now I’m stuck with “SUCKER” written on my forehead.

5. So I have taken the day off and am anxiously anticipating the arrival of the Empire Today team to install my new hardwood floor. The time pushes to approximately 0900 and I haven’t heard anything so I decided to make a few phone calls. I call Empire Today @ 800-588-2300 and talk to a representative to find out what time the installers will be arriving. I get put on hold for approximately 10 minutes and the rep finally comes back…with NO information at all. The rep stated they contacted my local facility and they would be contacting me in the next 10-15 minutes with more information. I wait…and 30 minutes passes, so I call the 800 number again. I get a different rep and this time I am on hold for approximately 15 minutes and I get nothing in return. This time I am told the trucks are still being loaded and when they are dispacthed out I will get a call. Well about 5 minutes pass and I get a call from a guy named Tim, who states my delivery/install was never set-up for today and there wasn’t much hope of getting it added into the schedule. Almost immediately after, I get a call from Rich (some regional boss I assume) who offers me $300.00 off the price of my floor but I have to wait until the next day (Saturday) for the install. Unbelievable…just because you throw money at a situation, doesn’t make the situation go away. If empire was so worried about keeping the customer happy…they should have used that $300.00 offer and hired/brought in an additional crew to make the promised installation date. I will definitely never use the services of Empire Today…if you choose to…beware of their inability to keep/maintain scheduled appointment times.

6. All these reviews are 100% accurate. This place is a joke. Here is my recent experience:
   I call them up because I see a deal for “free” installation on their website. The customer service rep tells me on the phone that the deal expired the previous month (even though I have a print out of the site that says otherwise), but that they will still honor the deal since it’s still up on the site (how generous…thank you for “giving” me something that is still valid!).
   So she sets up the appointment, offering same day free in home estimate (this should have been my first warning sign…obviously they aren’t busy with many customers if they can offer same day estimate). So I set up the appt for the next day, the guy shows up early, and we get started.
   Overall, he seems like a generally nice guy, however…it’s pretty apparent that he does not know everything there is to know about flooring – he doesn’t even know basic stuff! When I asked him how thick the laminate boards were, he fumbles around his words then finally says something to the effect of, “umm well, they are as thick as you see them right here.” OK?!? Then, by the grace of God, it was like he finally remembered and casually says, “well they’re 8 mil.” Ding ding ding!
   After that, we get down to the real issue. He shows all his samples and says he is going to crunch some numbers. He ends up with a few numbers written down on a piece of graph paper, then asks if it was lower or higher than I was expecting. I say “a lot higher”…considering I was having only 400 sq ft done and his estimate was $4,700 with their mid tier product. I ask to see the breakdown of the cost, and that’s where sh*t hit the fan. He really starts fumbling and he says that I can figure the cost to be 1/3 of product, 1/3 installation, 1/3 “extras” (still not giving me specific numbers). So I say, “but I thought the installation was free…so it shouldn’t be included in those numbers, should it?” That really made him uncomfortable…more fumbling…then he finally spits out, “well I can break it out whichever way you want, but this is still the bottom line…most people just want to see the bottom line.” So I proceed to tell him that I guess I’m not most people. Again, he says he can break it out but that is still the bottom line, this is superior product and installation, yada yada yada. That’s when I told him we were done, helped him collect his things, and sent him out the door. Never received a follow up call.

   This place is a complete and utter rip-off. At least if you’re going to rip someone off, show them exactly how you’re doing it. I don’t know too many people who are willing to dish out almost 5k without knowing exactly what is making up that cost. Most people wouldn’t even pay a $30 dinner bill without specific line items broken out. Run fast and far from this company!

7. You are correct in warning people to avoid Empire Today. We have been lied to and subject to terrible quality of product and service. I wanted hardwood on my stairs and was told that Empire does not do that. They require carpet for safety reasons. Said he would give us that free when they did the laminate in our upper hallway. Horrible job of installation. The laminate on the main floor after 4 years is lifting and splitting. Upon their inspection they determined there is moisture coming up from under our house and they will not do anything to fix it. So much for the “15 year warranty”. Lies, Lies, Lies.

8. I have to agree with all of the negative comments about Empire. They quoted me close to 3K and told me my two small rooms totaled 1200 sq. ft. It was a complete lie and they tried to lower the price four times to convince me I should buy it. I refused and recieved other quotes for $600. In addition, they will not provide you an itemized bill and when I asked for one the salesman quickly changed the subject.

9. I had to replace the carpet in the hallways/staircase of a three story three family in Boston. I had used
   Empire before, so gave them a call and got an estimate. The price was $4.53 per sq. ft. installed. To
   say that the salesperson was incompetent would be generous. He had to measure everything three
   times, could not do simple calculations. He made so many mistakes on the order crossing things out
   two and three times that it was unreadable. He told me that I had to put down a third of the total cost
   because it was a special order and would take 10-14 days to get the carpet. Then in the next breath
   said that it could be installed the next day.

   Came up with an estimate of $3,692 based and 774.26 sq ft. I said that seemed high. He said: no,
   and that this was a big area. I asked if there was an additional labor charges since this was a
   staircase. He re-iterated: no, it’s a flat fee. I agreed to remove and dispose of the old carpet to save
   $200. He called the office and the lowered price for $3,001 was agreed upon. When I ripped up the
   carpet I looked at them and concluded that there was no way that this was close to 800 sq ft. I
   measured it and came out with 304 sq ft. I am an architect with 30 yrs experience and an expert in
   this area. I had a third person measure it and he came up with 305 sq ft.

   Granted it was a staircase with more waste than normal, but over150%. I called the office and
   complained. A manager came out and first he said was that in the order was written for 680 sq. ft.,
   not the original 774.26 sq. ft. that the basis for the quote. He also confirmed that the price included
   installation and that there was not a separate labor charge. When I asked why there was no
   adjustment and that the price still reflected the original 774.26 sq. ft. he had no answer. He also
   confirmed that it was in stock. No one has ever explained why I had put up $1,000 deposit instead of
   the standard $25. A question that remains unanswered to this day.

   He measured and came up with 502 sq. ft. Not sure how using the same equation they came up with
   three different sizes for the same square footage of floor space. He told me that he would give me a
   $500 credit. I said OK and the installation was scheduled for the next day. I really didn’t have much
   of a choice, as I stood to lose the $1,000 deposit.

   The installers arrived with the work order where the price was still $3,001. There also was a note to
   call after the work was done. When I told them that this is not the right price, they called to the
   office before they started, but the manager didn’t want to talk. I took the phone and reminded that we
   agreed to lower price by at least $500. He answered that he would discuss the final price after
   installation. The installers installed and I called to manager again. This time, he said the bill was
   $2,800. I reminded him again that he had agreed to a $500 credit from the $3001. He denied that he
   had ever having agreed to that. Among the scrap was a single piece 12ft x 6ft =72 sq.ft and I tried to
   get a credit for it. I tried to pay for 430 sq ft instead the 502 sq. ft. (502-72=430), the amount actually
   installed plus waste. He said: no. So I said that I would pay for every sq in that was in the truck. I
   took out my calculator and computed: $4.53 x 502 sq.ft + 5% (taxes)= $2,387.76. He said: no, that
   $2,601 was the best he could do. I reminded him that the contract was for $4.53 per sq. ft. for 502
   sq.ft. not for 545 sq.ft. (There was a total 502 sq. ft. of carpet in the truck). I still questioned the 58%
   waste (based on 502 sq, ft., not the 545 sq. ft. that I was charged for), but have decided to drop it

   He pretty much demanded the new higher price even though he could offer no explanation as to how
   he came to that price. He also told me that I had to pay it since it had already been installed even
   hough the new higher price had never been discussed. So, I paid $2, 601. Very expensive carpet for
   the 305 sq. ft. of floor space!

10. Empire has been a nightmare from the time the salesman arrived. I regret ever calling them. So will you.

11. Please do not use empire today! nothing but bad reviews, doesn’t show up on time, low quality, 60% or whatever off my ass, still more than local stores and low quality. if you want newbies instaling your carpets then call, if you want professional please don’t. i bet you can install on you own is even better than going through empire. search google before you go with empire