The complaint has been investigated and
resolved to the customer's satisfaction

Resolved Empire Today — steer clear of empire today!

Empire Today just started doing business in NC, and have started a huge t.v. ad campaign. My wife saw the commercials and we figured we'd give them a try. I called and set up an appointment and they sent someone at my earliest convenience. So far so good.

The estimator shows up and immediately put us off by assuming that my wife and I weren't southerners because we didn't have drawls and proceeded to make fun of southern accents.

He immediately started his salesman schmooze by complimenting my wife, playing with the baby, asking to pet our dog, etc etc. He measured the rooms we wanted carpeted and went back to his van to get samples. He immediately started trying to steer us towards the most expensive carpet he had, and told us to not "make the mistake of buying carpet based on price." Um... yeah. Price is not an object to a salesman, is it?

After measuring he gave me an estimate that was about $2000 over what anyone else gave us. He kept going on about how it included EVERYTHING from padding to moving the furniture, to removing the old carpet and padding, etc etc. I was able to talk him down a measly $200 which he immediately tacked back on with sales tax. We really needed the carpet and in a hurry, so I signed on the dotted line. I asked him for an itemized bill so I could see how it all broke down, and he said, "We don't do things that way. We figure it by the job." Red flags then went off...

After he left, I started thinking about how completely wrong I felt about the transaction. I reviewed the paper work and saw where he failed to mention all of my options as far as padding, moving my own furniture, etc etc.

I called and canceled within 30 minutes of him leaving my house. They asked why I wanted to cancel and I told them the salesman wouldn't give me an itemized bill. The customer service rep asked, "Well if we knock something more off the price, would that help?" I told him it might if he could promise me an itemized bill, but he would NOT do that. He gave me my cancellation notice and said that my $25 deposit would be refunded in 10-14 business days. I told him the salesman required $100 from me and he said, "Um... really?"

So then I called to cancel the credit line that was opened with GE and got a call center in India and they refused to help me cancel the account. Why wasn't I smart enough to trust my gut instinct? I'm still in this mess and I will warn EVERYONE to steer clear of Empire Today. Take your money to a reputable local dealer or a national chain of home improvement stores.