This branch of Empire Today which serves a large area surrounding Charlotte, NC seems to have serious issues with their installation department. The products we chose have been as promised but that is where it ends. The actual installations have been sloppy and sub-par. There have been many attempts to correct the work but every time it was only made worse. The installation department as a whole seems to be very disorganized, i.e. sending installers without the correct materials for the job, sending the wrong installers for a specific job, setting appointments that nobody shows up for or are extremely late, not returning phone calls in a timely manner when promised, and fabricating stories as they need. We endured numerous repair appointments, with each one consuming an entire day, only to be left with the same problem (or worse), plus damages and a huge mess.
With each appointment, we spent a considerable amount of time preparing for, moving furniture ahead of time, waiting for installers, and cleaning up after each one. We ended up making concessions and settling for less than what we were promised each time, just to have this over with. And even then, although it has been a full 6 months and the repairs are still incomplete. We have used other Empire locations in the past with good results but apparently this location has lower standards and does not stand up to their advertising. IF, after reading this, a person decides to use Empire Today anyway, pay by any credit card other than theirs, that way when you are left disappointed, you will be able to put the entire transaction in dispute and your credit card company will withhold payment to Empire until everything is settled to your satisfaction. BUYER BEWARE!
We had Empire come out and put carpeting and hardwood laminate down at our previous home. The Wood flooring was done perfectly and to our expectations. The carpeting is a whole different story. The installers, onstead of moving furniture with rollers or by moving it in a standard way decided that they would flip the furniture end over end to get it out of the way, resulting in breaking two long dressers and really messing up everything in our tall dressers, not to mention the broken end table. Thee are horrible, horrible, horrible and i would not recommend them to anyone. It would be more beneficial to lay the carpet yourself than waste your money on these idiots.
First a salesman came to my house to give me a quote for hardwood floors, he should me different floors to choose from, he asked me what kind of floors did i want, i told him hardwood floors, so i picked the ones i wanted, before he left he gave me a quote totaling up to 6500 to do my living room, kitchen, dinning room and hall way, told me no one could bet that price and they would do the floors now. I told him i was not ready. Weeks later someone called me and said if i let them do my floors today the price would go down to 4600, i said no thank you i was waiting on my tax money.
Once i got my tax money, i called the sales man back out, to price match 2 other quotes i got , 1 being from 50 floors which was higher 6900 than Empire and another one being from a comany called A.R. Carpets & Floors which was for 4900 and that include doing 14 steps, hardood, take-up, moulding. So the salesman said ok we can price match price for price due to the company is charging me so low on doing the stairs, so the would quote me and i got this in writing on contract with Empire of 5570.00 to do my living room, kitchen, dinning room, 14 stairs, and hall way.
It was a deal that was written up and signed. Then the installers came in the next day to do the work. When they pulled back the carpet they informed me that i had presswood under my carpet so they could not do hardwood floors for me. They said someone should have told me this before they pulled the wood, put in on the truck, and came to me house. so they left.
I called Empire to inform them of what had happen and to complain about the labor, gas, time, and inconveniece to me and labors, they said it was the salesman fault and i have them on recording saying the sales man should have looked before quoting me a price, but on the contract it say if they do run into a problem like this its my problem. ok thats all fine i said to them, but the quote does not state this or the written estimate you gave me, so your quotes are misleading, a fraud, you cant quote a price if you dont check all required sources needed to do work.
Empire Today LLC Reviews
In Spring, 2013 Empire installed a defective and inferior hardwood
floor that was later found to be OVERPRICED. Within the first year cracks
appeared on the boards and continued to worsen. An inspection was completed and
determined that "the particular lot of floor boards was defective". I
was told other customers with the same flooring had experienced "worse
results" than mine. Empire replaced the floor with an "upgraded"
product in Spring, 2014. To my surprise and dismay in Feb, 2015 (less than a yr)
cracks appeared in the new "upgraded" floor. Another inspection was
done in February. Humidity readings were not an issues both times. My
thermostat is regulated between 68-74 degrees. I am careful to clean the floor
with a dry Swiffer and to wipe up spills right away. It was interesting to hear
one of the inspectors mention "possibly too thin of a veneer, your home
has settled so no concern there, and no moisture issues." They even
noticed a board that led them to question the installation and stated they
would check with the installers to see what type of equipment they used. They
said they would get back to me and did not. I called and was told that the
cracked boards would be replaced (12-16 at that time). However after 2
CANCELLED appt by Empire to replace boards, 12-16 boards became 40-45, along
with boards that now wave, sink and split (I have pics). Empire had an
independent inspector come out April, 2015 (very unprofessional, rude and 4-5
calls to sched a time that worked for HIM). Of course, no one called me back
after the inspection and I followed up with Empire, beginning of May 2015. I
was told that the boards were sched to be replaced. I inquired about the
inspection and was not given the results. I then stated "so, you are going
to replace 40-45 boards now in a dining/living room, hallway, and 2
bedrooms?" (This has the beginning of a total replacement!) I was then
transferred to the General Manager. He scheduled an appt to inspect the floor
himself. He was timely and stated he would do what he can. He genuinely seemed
concerned. It was FINALLY decided the floor would be replaced AGAIN (3rd time)
and that the only thing they ask is that I do not chose the same product. That
was no problem! Install was sched for 6/24-6/26/2015 (3-4 weeks ahead of time
to avoid any problems with product not being here and getting the right
installers). The product was delivered to my home on 6/19 to acclimate (this
had not been done the other 2x) and the installers stated they would see me on
the 24th between 7:30-8:30 am. I arranged to take time off from work (3 days).
This is on top of the previous time taken off to "replace boards"
that was twice scheduled. To my dismay I was called around 7:30am on the day of
installation stating the installers would NOT BE AVAILABLE! My house is prepped
for a floor to be installed (furniture moved downstairs, etc). No reason was
given except that the installer is unable to make it. This is UNACCEPTABLE! I
was told I would be reimbursed for my work loss for the day but will not hold
my breath. I asked for a refund of my original purchase and was told this is
NOT possible. I left messages with the General Manager on 6/24 as to what would
be acceptable to me for install and FINALLY a message was left on my voice mail
at 5:44 pm stating he "was out of the office all day but working on
finding installers to install my floor on 6/25 but that it didn't look good and
most likely will need to be resched" and that he "will call me as
soon as he finds something out." On 6/27, I am still waiting for a phone
call! I didn't realize they cancelled ALL 3 days! The bridge is now burned! At
this point the only resolution is a full refund so I can go to a reputable
company that provides a quality product and quality service. Today I brought
the EMPIRE product sample to a local flooring expert and was AMAZED at the poor
quality of Empire's floor! PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING FROM EMPIRE
EMPIRE CARPET – CHARLOTTE, NC SERVICE AREA
This branch of Empire Today which serves a large area surrounding Charlotte, NC seems to have serious issues with their installation department. The products we chose have been as promised but that is where it ends. The actual installations have been sloppy and sub-par. There have been many attempts to correct the work but every time it was only made worse. The installation department as a whole seems to be very disorganized, i.e. sending installers without the correct materials for the job, sending the wrong installers for a specific job, setting appointments that nobody shows up for or are extremely late, not returning phone calls in a timely manner when promised, and fabricating stories as they need. We endured numerous repair appointments, with each one consuming an entire day, only to be left with the same problem (or worse), plus damages and a huge mess.
With each appointment, we spent a considerable amount of time preparing for, moving furniture ahead of time, waiting for installers, and cleaning up after each one. We ended up making concessions and settling for less than what we were promised each time, just to have this over with. And even then, although it has been a full 6 months and the repairs are still incomplete. We have used other Empire locations in the past with good results but apparently this location has lower standards and does not stand up to their advertising. IF, after reading this, a person decides to use Empire Today anyway, pay by any credit card other than theirs, that way when you are left disappointed, you will be able to put the entire transaction in dispute and your credit card company will withhold payment to Empire until everything is settled to your satisfaction. BUYER BEWARE!
We had Empire come out and put carpeting and hardwood laminate down at our previous home. The Wood flooring was done perfectly and to our expectations. The carpeting is a whole different story. The installers, onstead of moving furniture with rollers or by moving it in a standard way decided that they would flip the furniture end over end to get it out of the way, resulting in breaking two long dressers and really messing up everything in our tall dressers, not to mention the broken end table. Thee are horrible, horrible, horrible and i would not recommend them to anyone. It would be more beneficial to lay the carpet yourself than waste your money on these idiots.
First a salesman came to my house to give me a quote for hardwood floors, he should me different floors to choose from, he asked me what kind of floors did i want, i told him hardwood floors, so i picked the ones i wanted, before he left he gave me a quote totaling up to 6500 to do my living room, kitchen, dinning room and hall way, told me no one could bet that price and they would do the floors now. I told him i was not ready. Weeks later someone called me and said if i let them do my floors today the price would go down to 4600, i said no thank you i was waiting on my tax money.
Once i got my tax money, i called the sales man back out, to price match 2 other quotes i got , 1 being from 50 floors which was higher 6900 than Empire and another one being from a comany called A.R. Carpets & Floors which was for 4900 and that include doing 14 steps, hardood, take-up, moulding. So the salesman said ok we can price match price for price due to the company is charging me so low on doing the stairs, so the would quote me and i got this in writing on contract with Empire of 5570.00 to do my living room, kitchen, dinning room, 14 stairs, and hall way.
It was a deal that was written up and signed. Then the installers came in the next day to do the work. When they pulled back the carpet they informed me that i had presswood under my carpet so they could not do hardwood floors for me. They said someone should have told me this before they pulled the wood, put in on the truck, and came to me house. so they left.
I called Empire to inform them of what had happen and to complain about the labor, gas, time, and inconveniece to me and labors, they said it was the salesman fault and i have them on recording saying the sales man should have looked before quoting me a price, but on the contract it say if they do run into a problem like this its my problem. ok thats all fine i said to them, but the quote does not state this or the written estimate you gave me, so your quotes are misleading, a fraud, you cant quote a price if you dont check all required sources needed to do work.