Empire Today LLC / shedding carpet
In February of last year, we had Empire Today install a frieze carpet in our home at twice the cost of what another competitor was offering. We decided to go with Empire because of their promised service and quality. It is now nearly January, almost a year later, and our carpet is still shedding, significantly shedding. We called Empire, and they sent an independent inspector out to review the carpet and take samples. He observed the shedding, even vacuumed a small section of the floor and observed the vacuum completely fill with the fibers from the carpet. After a week, we received a report in the mail indicating that the shedding is normal and may continue for some time, and that nothing will be done.
In all of my experience with new carpet in my home and relatives homes, I have never seen a carpet shed like our carpet is doing. We have a one year old baby that plays on the carpet, and he has actually learned that he can pull on the carpet and pull up fibers and eat them. This is very disturbing.
I understand that new carpet may shed for up to one to two months, but carpet should not be shedding after nearly a year! The carpet that we purchased was a Beaulieu Coronet in Tempting Gardenia. I would warn anyone thinking of having Empire install carpet in their home, that they do not back up their service claims, and that the carpet I purchased was twice as much as a competitor and of inferior quality. We are going to have to purchase new carpet now to replace the carpet we purchased from Empire. So disappointing. We should have researched Empire prior to our purchase.
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Date
Thank you for bringing your carpet experience to our attention. We encourage you to contact us directly by either visiting our online customer service center at http://www.empiretoday.com/Customer-Service or e-mailing us at webcustomerservice@empiretoday.com. Our team looks forward to working toward resolving your issue immediately.
Sincerely,
Consumer Advocate Team
Empire Today, LLC
Hi Amanda, Sorry to hear about your carpet problems.
Here are some suggestions.
Since Empire is such a large company, they may be contracting for their own carpet inspectors. (The inspectors are supposed to be independent but the reality is that if they process too many complaints against the Carpet Retailer for installation or against a Carpet Mill for whom they do work; they will lose that business.)
You can hire your own carpet inspector. It will cost some money. If you contact your Homeowner's Insurance Agent, he/she can probably recommend an flooring inspector. Or refer you to a claims adjuster who will surely know an inspector. They may even be willing to submit your carpet for classification as to (like ; kind : quality). Inspectors who work for Insurance Companies are vested slowly over time. It can take years to become fully vested. It has to do with developing integrity.
You can also contact the Carpet Mill to find out if the carpet style you purchased is still manufactured. If not, find out when they stopped producing the carpet. If they stopped producing the carpet before your purchase date, that could be a red flag that you recieved (seconds) instead of first quality goods.
If the carpet is still manufactured, request a sample swatch in 2 or 3 colors and compare them in behavior to any scraps you may have left over from the original installation.
Also check you invoice for a sidemark. Unfortunately, they are not always shown. If the carpet was not a stock item and they had to order the carpet. The sidemark would trace the carpet back to a lot#. And the mill will know if the carpet was sold as a second or even a third! This may help if you get litigious. The mill probably won't disclose this information at a corparate level to you.
If the carpet is private labeled to Empire ie. : Style Name & Color Name. Have a friend or relative call Empire and request some color swatches. Tell them they are for paint selection. Make sure it is a good friend, Empire may never stop bugging them.
Finally, you can insist that a mill representative inspect the carpet and write a report. Sometimes, a carpet retailer will sell a carpet pad that does not meet manufacturer's warranties. In such an instance, the mill would deny a warranty replacement because it can be reasonably argued that a carpet pad that is too thick, or too thin or less than 6 to 6-1/2 pounds results in undue wear to the backing of the carpet; is the cause of the excess shedding.
If the Carpet Retailer sold you pad that voided the Carpet Mill's and Fiber Producer's warranty. The retailer would be on the hook for the full cost of replacement. (Provided: They did something like this and failed to disclose that information). This would obviously a big finacial insentive for a multi-state flooring retailer or franchiser to hire their own carpet inspectors.
Hi Amanda!
You are dead on with your complaint against Empire. We had carpet installed by them and within a few months the carpet was matted down and showed significant wear in traffic areas. The sales person and written warranty info specifically stated that this type of wear was covered. We called Empire and they sent a representative out to our home. The rep came in, looked around, took pictures, talked with us at length about our care of the carpet. We told the rep that we were urged to install this particular carpet because it was their most expensive with the highest rating. The carpet was thick, plush, and dense. It was sold to us as the carpet for "high traffic areas". The rep shook his head and stated "I know exactly what the problem is" and left. Empire called a few days later and let us know that the report showed that all it would take to fix my carpet was vacuuming. My husband and I lost our faith in Empire. It is obvious that an independent rep is NOT going to keep his job if he calls for Empire to reinstall carpet at Empire's expense; the rep clearly saw what the problem was, but his report did not reflect his conversation with us.
We recarpeted at our expense, with a different company, and we were very happy with the replacment carpet. Now here is the kicker...
Fast forward a few years and it's time to carpet again. We decided to use another carpet company. We went with a different type of carpet. This carpet had a manufacturing defect and within 30 days was loosing backing and having issues. The new company sent THEIR rep out with forms, questions, pictures, and a lengthy conversation about what was happening. Within three days we had a call from the company and we were told that our entire house would be recarpeted at no expense! The company sells Stainmaster carpet and it was Stainmaster that took care of us... Go with a Stainmaster carpet and use a company with roots in the community and a reputation for customer care.
I would never use Empire again and you should never have to hire your own carpet inspector. If a company is legitimate and they stand behind their product then issues get resolved with no expense to you. I will never buy anything but a Stainmaster carpet and I will pay a little more to go with a carpet sales company that has roots in the community and a reputation for taking care of their customers. Empire is cheaper than most, but you pay for that savings in the long run. Sometimes the best deal isn't the cheapest deal and I had to learn that the hard way. Stay away from Empire!