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On 2/21/07, a sales representative from Empire came to my house to give me a quote. The representative measured the two rooms (living room and bedroom), advising me that it totaled 80 square yards. I picked out two different samples. For the less expensive sample, he advised that it cost $29 per square yard, including removal of the existing carpet, padding and installation. Including taxes, he quoted a price slightly more than $2,500. After I hesitated, he stated that the "sale" would end that day. I asked him what the "regular price" was, and he responded that it was $38 per square yard. After I hesitated further, he asked how much I would be willing to pay. I paused, then stated, "maybe $2,000." He said, "Okay, but I need to know now." I hesitated again, and then I left the room to call a contractor-contact of mine to ask if that price was reasonable. He advised me that the price was high. I told the sales representative that I had to think about it, and I would call him the following week. After he left, I had an independent carpeting contractor come to the house to give me a competitive quote. The other contractor came to my house later in the day to take measurements. He advised me that the two rooms totaled only 68 square yards. Thus, the Empire sales representative lied to me about the total yardage. I decided to drop it, and not call Empire back.
The most egregious act by Empire, however, was still to come. On 2/25/07, I received a call from an Empire telephone representative, who asked me if I was interested in purchasing the carpet. Without explanation, I said no. She responded that Empire could beat the last quote. I stated that I was still not interested. She asked me why. I then started to explain the entire story, including that Empire lied about the amount of square yards. Before I was finished explaining what had happened, but after I told her that Empire lied about the total yardage, the Empire telephone representative hung up on me. I fully expected her to apologize and tell me that Empire would undertake an investigation, but instead she did just the opposite. By hanging up on me, she exposed Empire for the fraud it really is. Obviously, this was not a situation where the sales representative who went to my home was a "bad egg." To the contrary, by hanging up on me, she proved that Empire is in on the fraud. Empire's fraudulent scheme, among other things, is to overquote the amount of square yards needed. Empire should be shut down.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
we got lucky, i suppose. salesman came out and i told him point blank that if he wanted paid up front that we couldn't do business. he said "of course, only scammers want paid up front". installers came out 4 days later instead of next day and the first thing they said was i had to pay first to get the carpet installed. i sent them on their way, they called their boss, they brought the phone to me, as if their boss was going to convince me to pay first. i sent them packing again. my view is that they are liars and scammers.
I scheduled an appointment with Empire to come out for an estimate for my parents home. I wanted to redo flooring in their home whilst they were away as a surprise. The agent did not show up during the scheduled time. I contacted the man office to cancel the appointment as I did not want him to come and ruin their surprise. They put me on hold to contact him directly. The rep told me he was five minutes away from ending a previous appointment and he could be at my home in a half of an hour. I said it was too late at this point and I would need to reschedule explaining my plans for my parents. The rep put me on hold again then came back saying she spoke to agent and he would wait to be rescheduled. My parents returned home and not five minutes after a car pulls into their driveway. It was the Empire salesman; I had to rush outside and tell him to go away as I did not want my parents to know my intentions. He left but I get a phone call from him immediately after asking when he can reschedule. I can understand if he did not get my message and showed up on time for his appointment but he knew my situation and did not call me once prior to his arrival. Did he think that by showing up he would secure a sale because he knew it was a present? Awful! It made me think twice about the ethics of this company. I am lucky this happened to me because I won't have to go through the hardships about which I have been reading regarding Empire.
I unfortunately bought carpet from this place. The carpet was supposedly the superior stain resistant carpet that was supposedly warranteed for 15 years. From start to finish, my experience with Empire was a learning experience. Five years later, I am still learning as I am taking out the old carpet and putting in the replacement floors in, I have learned that they did in fact charge me for more significantly more square footage than exists. In addition "next daydelivery" was actually about 3 weeks later. They said they would give me a $250 credit for the inconvenience and never did. The carpet looked terrible within a year and no stain remover would work. When I called to address the warranty, I was given the run around and ultimately realized that they would replace peices of carpets. Since I could point out the seams that were there from the initial installation, I didn't want my living room to look like a puzzle board. Not one call was answered with any kind of courtesy. The representatives were rude at every turn. Please don't order from this company and make the same mistake I did.
I was told of an apt. to come measure my cellar for caepet. I took the day off due to company coming from out of town and needing the space for sleeping arrangments. I was called the night before but no one ever showed up. I then wrote to the company online and had someone call to apoligize and reschedule. Someone did show up and caropet was installed. I had a dehumidifier downstairs that over flowed and went on the carpet(just water) it had a big stain that 3 shampoos did not get it clean. I have been calling numerous people at customer service and no one ever gets back to me. I finally called a person named Scott and he finally set an apt to look at it 2 weeks later with 4 phone calls . I was told someone would be coming tonight at 5pm. Again no phone call or show. Carpet is not of quality and the customer service is the worst ever...WARNING DO NOT GO WITH EMPIRE TODAY
Thank you so much for the information. I was going to call Empire for a quote and now I WON"T, and I will definately pass on this info to all my friends and co-workers
I am glad I saw this story about the dishonest salesman. I am getting ready to buy carpet for a 6, 000 sq feet house and had looked on the internet for quality carpet. One webside said Empire was the best.
I will stay clear of anything that has their name on it. Thanks for letting us all know what kind of people they really are.
What a horor! Called for sales rep on 7/12/08. Came promptly. Installation scheduled for AM 7/14. Showed up at 2:40PM. Had old carpeting & pad ripped out. Installer asks for balance due. I said my contract says COD, carpet, padding and INSTALLATION. Spent one half hour on phone with numerous people, telling me that I had to pay up front. I said contract says COD not CIA and that was it. Finally Credit Manager comes on phone and says "for you, I will make a concession". HA!
Installers began, 2nd run of carpet was one yard short, installer explained how he would seam either in front of the bar, or at the base of the stairs, my choice. No way. Installers called in the complaint, picked up the carpeting and left. Said that I would be contacted by someone, sometime the next day.
I immediately called for my Sales Rep, who, after two hours got back to me. Apologized, said he would look into it and make an adjustment for all of the harassment and inconvenience. The installers showed up early on the 15th and did a reasonable installation. I paid the balance of the original price.
Have called my rep 12 times since then, to no avail. The two times I spoke with him, he gave me a number of excuses and passed the blame for nonsatisfaction of adjustment on other departments. Now he does not respond to any of my voice mails. I want to pursue this further, but am having trouble getting the name of the proper person. I hesitate to just make a call and ask for the Manager, for I know I will be directed to a number of insignificant people who will just give me a bunch of excuses and delay tactics.
Will not use Empire again.
I was also looking to replace carpet to sell a house.
Would not quote anything on the phone - red flag
Prices quoted once I met with them, "retail" $40-70 a yd?!
Oh, but then we discount that! cheapest, nearly $30 a yard.
Long story short, got my carpet at Lowes, $11 a yard + $200 whole house removal of old carpet and installed new. Less than 1/2 of Empire's best deal.
I interrupted the high pressure sales guy by stating, unless you can be competetive and can do this for $15 a yard installed or less, thanks but no thanks. He made no attempt to sell me once he heard that, he packed up and left within 2 minutes.
These guys sell to the elderly for the most part, people out of touch with the real values.
As I read the complaints, I couldn't get over how one person (who never bought anything) lays down a complaint and everyone falls in line like blind ducks and does whatever the first person tells them to do. An intelligent person would at least investigate any company and find that there are two parts to every story. The waste factor of 15% to 20% is normal, but people can't figure that out. I'll bet someone is also comparing an expensive carpet from one company to another person's cheap carpet and think they are getting ripped off on the price by the first company. A good job isn't cheap and a cheap job isn't good.
I bought carpeting from Empire, and I have to say it is the worst carpeting I've ever seen. I was overcharged and the carpet is very cheap quality. The samples they bring is the not the same type of carpeting they install. My carpets are 5 years old, and they look like they been in my home for over ten years. Even when I had them cleaned, it made them worst. The carpeting was not installed properly, I called them back, when they returned they did not correct the problem. I have loose carpeting all over my house. I hate the carpeting and believe me, I'm telling everybody I know to never, ever us this company. They are crooks and rip-off artists.
I had a very bad experience with Empire Carpet. The sales rep who came to my house in Gardena was drunk and talking with a force selling - I was ready to give him the "Karate chop" and throw him out of the stair. I would not patronize Empire Carpet even if they were the only existing carpet store.
Apprehensive in Gardena
I am trying to find information about Empire like the owners name and I can not find it. That company appears to be very simmiular to a company by the name of Pacsetters Corp. That company had many companints they caused many problems for home owner than one day they sold the company than the company filed Bankrupcy. I am in the opinion that those two companies are one in the same. Maybe somebody can add information inorder to make the connections.
Thanks for all the information, I am calling to cancel my appointment for myself and my mother in law, my sister and her husband also. I will stick with a reputable company.
thanks for all the feedback.
Every 3 months since I purchased rugs from this crooked place they need to be stretched again and I paid 75 dollars the 1st time, 3 months later they needed to be stretched again. They were stretched about 5 times already now EMPIRE wants me to sign a release letting them off the hook and not letting them be resonsible for the stretching ever again. IF they were installed properly this would not happed unless they were poor carpets which seems to be the case. If anyone can advise me if they had a similar situation please contact me.
They are crooks, and the guy who comes out to stretch them is nuts too saying he owned a rug company, then why the hell is he working for Empire the CROOKED rug place? Call for action on your local news station, alert anyone you know not to buy from them!
Empire is a rip off
Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire Today. Empire Today is dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. Unfortunately, we are unable to reference your account with only your name as provided on this website. We would like to work with you to resolve your concerns. Please contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.
Yes it is very true that actual verses what you really need to carpet a room/house will not be the same. For those that are inexperienced 20% over actual is a save bet, for those that know carpet and how to truly measure that might not be the case. An experience carpet person will measure the entire job and then minimize the extra that it will take, based on the layout of the job and the width of the carpet chosen. Most carpet does come in 12 ft width's there are others that are wider, but those are very few.
I will not buy anything from Empire. There Ad. on the TV and radio is driving me an others I Know nuts. Every stupid station has it on. I would like to smash that little ###. I am a easy going guy but this gets my goat. This is as bad as the head on AD. You turn to next station and there he is again. I go to work and turn on the radio, there the ### is again. Lets shut him down. Bill
I purchased carpet from Empire in 2001. Over a period of 2 years I begain to notice that the carper seem to have what I thought to be dust around the edges. I would vacuum but it would not go away. I pointed out to my husband who said it may be just dirt. By 2004 it was evident that the carpet had faded not just on the edges but now it was under the dinning room table. I began calling Empire I spoke with customerservice who said they would put a claim in and send someone out. When no one came out I put in another request. This went on until the fourth time I was given the District Manager in my area. She was no help. She told me that the company did not cover fading. Finally I got her to agree to come out. She never did. I spoke with customerservice again. This time I was given the Chicago office who offered to send a rep out to sell me more carpet. This was unacceptable. After speaking with customer service yet again I was given back to the Chicago office. This time an attempt was made to put me through to the Regional Manager. I was told he was on the phone and I was being connected. I got his voicemail instead. Lastly, after calling Chicago yet again a person who identified herself as the manager said Empiere was not responsible and that perhaps the o zone or bad air had caused the problem but either way my warranty had now expiired. I responded the warrantyt had not expired when I initially called and defective carpet should always be covered as it should not have been sold in the first place!
What a bunch of whiners, I do not need customers like this! Take your business elsewhere, you lazy bums!
Sincerely,
Mr. Empire
Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire. We are dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. We are currently looking into the concerns mentioned in your post. We will contact you within the next three business days. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.
Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire. We are dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. We are currently looking into the concerns mentioned in your post. We will contact you within the next three business days. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.
Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire. We are dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. We are currently looking into the concerns mentioned in your post. We will contact you within the next three business days. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.
As a result of watching your many Carpet Commercial Advertisements on TV, I decided to call Empire Carpeting to set up an appointment to have a representative bring carpeting samples to my house. Since I just recently had my kitchen totally renovated, I felt a need to have an upgrade of my entire apartment. Therefore, I reached out to Empire Carpeting for improving my floors. However, when I called the number [protected], one of your representatives answered and she asked me several questions. The last question she asked me was for my ZIP Code. When I gave her my ZIP Code number 10451, she informed me that Empire Carpeting does not service my area. I asked her why they are not servicing my area and she responded, I do not know.
Consequently, I became very angry that in today’s world we have businesses like yours discriminating against various areas in New York. The mere fact that you are allowed to select the areas you service is a disgrace and insult to those neighbor hoods that you are refusing to service, especially in the Bronx. I am totally against your type of business making money off of certain people in the State of New York and then refusing to service other areas. Therefore, I am going to write the Mayor, Governor and the Attorney General about you discriminatory practices and ask that they ban your company from conducting business in our State.
Empire Carpets does't go into african american neiborhoods!
I am so glad that I found this website. It has saved my family not only lots of money but lots of frustration also. I will be looking for local companies to do my entire house and not worrying about Empire Carpet.
WOW after reading all these complaints I CANCELLED my appointment.
You have no idea what I have been going through with this company. They have been installing ceramic tile here since Feb, 1, 2008 and they still are not done. Today the guy comes in and tells me that he doesn't have a shop vac and if he couldn't use mine he couldn't do the job. I can't wait to call the company and tell them that one. They act as if they care. I know what a ripoff they are. My price on one room of carpeting and one room of ceramic tile was $7800.00 I almost fainted and I said way too high. He then told me the exact same thing he told you. " What do you want to pay" I really thought this was a reputable company. I guess money and advertising can really change minds. Maybe we should SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT. I am so glad that I found your website. Please call me if you wish my name is Ken Bednarik, 11879 Cook Rd. , Canfield Ohio 44406 and my phone number is [protected] please feel free to call me and discuss this matter further. Have a good day.
I am in the carpet business. If you have 10 carpet estimators come to your house and measure you will have 10 different yardage amounts. We all do it differently and in fact, the guy who estimates higher is actually doing you a favor. The guy with the low estimate is going to put a bunch of scraps on your floor when seaming. He may even turn the carpet one direction in one room and another direction in an adjacent room. They do these things to lower their bid price and yes you will pay less for your carpet, but in the end the low guy has done you no favor. There are right ways and wrong ways to install carpet and ways that would be considered short cuts. Short cuts don't wear well and in the end you will not be happy when the imperfections become apparent. I would fear the low yardage guy over the higher yardage guy any day.
I was going to give Empire a call on getting a quote on two houses I recently purchased. After reading all these negative comments I have now decided NOT to even bother calling them. Obviously they are NOT even trying to please the public for IF they wanted to they would fix and repair their ways of doing business. Thank you so much for this site for I would have been mad to pay out all the money to find it was totally inadequate and NOT what I wanted.
Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire. We are dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. We are currently looking into the concerns mentioned in your post. We will contact you within the next three business days. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.
Steve,
No matter where you get carpet you'll find that you need 15%-20% EXTRA in order to size the rooms correctly and put the seams in the best locations, this is NOT an underhanded move or spin. Carpet comes in 12 foot widths only. If your room is 10 foot by 8 foot, you're going to need a piece of carpet 12 x 8 and who do you think is supposed to pay for the waste? the company you buy from? Get real.
Had a very similar experience. I measured up after the rep had gone and my measurements came in smaller by over 25%. I did this to try and get a per foot cost (they wouldn't give me one - not their policy I was told) to compare and found the carpet was way overpriced as well.
The manager told me that I didn't know what I was doing and tried to spin me a line that the measurements were out because of the wastage they had to build in due to roll width.
Needless to say I didn't proceed.
They prey on our impatience and a desire for immediacy.
Do your homework and get reputable suppliers in.
I do home inspections, and I can't tell you how many complaints I hear and see about Empire. Carpet is thin and the installation is often substandard, particularly around seems and baseboards. I would never, ever have Empire install anything for me.
I'm sorry to mis-quote the complaints from typing in Home Depot above in the website search box. There are only 210 complaints and 21 pages of complaints.
Go to the top of this website and type in Home Depot in the website search bar and over 200 complaints come up. That's less than Empire. Anyone who has every been to Home Depot knows what you get from minimum wage workers. Good luck at Home Depot, 3-4 weeks for special orders or the crap they have on hand in 3-4 days. Had nothing but horrible experiences with Home Depot.
Good Luck Dealing with HD, they are real professionals that get paid minimum wage, of course they don't care to work hard for you.
Laughing about the buttons to push when trying to find someone to help you in the departments. Just walk in and look around and ask questions most workers walk by you with their head down as if please don't dare ask me a question. Dealing with the managers is even better, have fun.
I just got online to look for Empire's phone number after seeing their tv commercial and I am so glad to come across this complaint listing. Thank you so much for the information. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT PROBABLY IS!
I'm really glad to have found this site, I had just called to setup an appointment to get an estimate on carpet. Which by reading this Won't happen. I want to say thanks to all that have taken their time to help others not get scammed by companies like this one.
I own a duplex and I am currently remodeling both sides. Thank you to all of you for your feedback on that company! I was going to set up an appointment with them but forgot their phone number from the TV add. I had to look it up on line and saw what a nightmare company they are ! I will let all of my friends know about that "caca" company.
Thanks for all the posts! It seems they operate similar to how carpet cleaners operate. I was going to schedule an appointment and have now decided to look elsewhere based on what I learned here.