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Empire Today review: Steer clear of empire today! 102

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Author of the review
12:00 am EST
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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.

Update by glosson
Mar 26, 2007 1:25 pm EDT

Just FYI, they're comment says they were going to call me within 24 hours. They never called. They're just trying to do damage control on these message boards because they have so many complaints against them.

May 14, 2014 10:07 am EDT
Empire Today customer support contacts
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333 Northwest Avenue, Melrose Park, IL, 60164, US

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Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention, Susan. We can assure you that your experience is not what we expect for our customers. We regret that your concerns have not yet been resolved, and we will be contacting you shortly to discuss the situation in more detail. You can also reach us at 888-588-2315 x4195 or customersupport@empiretoday.com. Thank you. Jeanette Ramey, National Customer Service Manager
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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.

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102 comments
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Empire-Today
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Jul 10, 2007 8:34 am EDT

We do understand that we may not be able to satisfy each customer that we work with. Empire Today LLC schedule thousands of appointments and installations daily and the percentage of unsatisfied customers are well below the industry standards. We still work with every customer and offer the best solutions as well as listen to theirs resolution so that we can do what is best for our customers.

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Regina K.
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Jun 13, 2007 3:03 pm EDT

The best way to find out if a product or service is up-to-par is to read customers' experiences. Doing home projects are always considered investments in upgrading your home value. When prestigious companies claim to be "all that" and turn out to be lacking in ethics and professionalism, then word of mouth is the best way to conquer poor service and bad business.

Before making any large financial deals with businesses, contact the BBB at http://search.bbb.org/

It couldn't hurt.

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G. Macdonald
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Jun 10, 2007 5:55 pm EDT

My husband and I are about to close on a house, and it very badly needs new carpet and some new tiling throughout. We saw the Empire commercial today, and as I was in the process of looking into them, came across both their website, which I read first and made me very suspicious, and then this one. We WON'T be calling them. It sounds like they need to be investigated for poor business practices and for fraud in every state they do business in. I hope everyone who has been ripped off and treated badly by this company files a complaint with both the BBB and their state's Justice Department or State's Attorney General, whichever the case may be. This kind of thing should not be allowed to continue. It isn't fair that just because working people want the best quality product for the best price should not make them into prey for such unscrupulous companies like this one. IMO, Somebody needs to shut them down... NOW.

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DTarsia
Drexel Hill, US
Jun 07, 2007 11:00 am EDT

In January 2005 I had a carpet installed in my house. The first day, after scheduling and confirming early morning installation they showed up at 5pm. The installation was then rescheduled for following day, they showed up in a timely manner this time but when moving furniture they broke my entertainment center(which I was compensated for) After almost completing the job, my wife walked in and found they were installing the wrong color carpet. So after much debate and 2 salesman (the first one conveniently didn't have that sample in his kit) They Finally arranged to have the correct carpet installed. So about 2 weeks later installation was commencing and all was done except for approx 1.5 along livingroom wall, when the installer stated he must stop as the rest of the carpet was from a "different dye lot" and would need to order in new carpet again. Approx one week later I took another day off work , the installers showed up opened the back door of the truck , I was called over and he stated they gave him wrong carpet again. So again they reordered the carpet and again I waited. A few days later I was called and told the carpet had arrived and installation was scheduled for a letr date. and FINALLY a carpet was permanently installed in my house(almost without incident) They damaged my china closet , but I didn't report it as even I would not believe me at that point and at this point quite honestly I wanted nothing more to do with this company.

After approx 3 months I noticed an area of the carpet had risen and was getting frayed in a traffic area by the steps to the only bathroom in the house. I called and reported it and they schedule an "independent inspector"to look at area, this Gentleman stated the area was delaminated by pet urine and no service would be provided. He was using a moisture gauge which showed twice the allowed moisture , I knew pet urine was not an issue so I contested this ruling and another inspector was sent who used the proper tool (a blacklight) to inspect the area, he stated to me clearly that pet urine was not the cause that the seam was installed in a traffic area and that it was installation error. So empire ONCE AGAIN was forced to replace my carpet, however my carpet was no longer available and it cost me an additional $250.00 to upgrade my carpet. But installation was scheduled and AGAIN I moved all my furniture out so the carpet could be replaced again. When the installers left it was noticed they had not stretched, they had had miscut an area on the stairs and just plugged in carpet which came up first vacuuming and did an unacceptable job around the banister. so they scheduled their repair tech "mike" and he stretched the living room but stated the stairs had to be handled by the original installer. he stated that I would be contacted within a week. After a few days I started calling asking when the repair would be completed.

Left many voicemails but got no return calls. So after approx 1 month I contacted the credit card company Ge Capitol to file a dispute and stop their payments. The dispute was cancelled though because Empire stated that I had never contacted them with a problem, Voicemails were Left with Cynthia as well as Chris Arnold at the Cinainson Nj location(the local market as they call it) Phone number [protected] or toll free [protected] and never got a return call, so I file a second dispute was filed and again this one just disapeared , I called Chris Arnold again last week and was told he would not help as I am "out of waranty"and he was never informed I had a problem , the call was then abruptly ended.

I then called Corporate again and lodged a complaint with e office of the president Ranisha Odem (not sure of spelling) who refered my complaint to Tim Sherman the regional manager, he did return my cakk Friday 4th and basically called me a liar about my repeated calls and attempt to correct the problem stating that he had no record of my calls. I know between my cell phone and home phone I have called over 20 times (27 to be exact) but he stated if I could prove 1 he would arrange repair, well as of Saturday I have proved 6 and am waiting for phone records from cell phone company and Left Mr Sherwin a message at [protected] ext 7813 and no return call has occurred. I did tell mr Sherwin that if he didn't respond quickly I would be contacting channel 6 and was told go ahead I have them handled "did I ever notice that no report has ever been done on us"

It is obvious that this company thinks they are above that which most would call good business practices and they certainly think they are more powerful than channel 6 and since I know better I would love to give you guys a shot at them.

Today I spoke with Tim Sherwin, he stated that he received my proof of my making phone calls and is still not willing to help me. He stated that I have been paid 60% of cost. This was reimbursed for time lost from work and the entertainment center they broke.

Thank you for taking the time to read this

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Jared McAnally
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Jun 04, 2007 2:12 pm EDT

You have no excuse for getting ripped off. With all the technology available, and the internet, which you must know how to use since you found this site, you have no excuse for being an uninformed victim. Further, don't blame empire today as a company for a lame salesman, it's not their fault he doesn't know anything about being professional or educated. Bottom line is... I don't feel sorry for you, get a brain.

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Lucia
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May 25, 2007 10:40 am EDT

Wow! I'm glad to have read this stuff now. We were thinking of going ahead and getting carpet from Empire but now I think I'll tell my husband we should go with someone else. We had a salesman come out a few days ago. He seemed pretty nice and fairly knowledgeable and we were tempted by the quick turnaround time. But, we decided to compare with Home Depot. The flooring guy there was much more knowledgeable and helpful and willing to discuss details. Details were missing from the Empire salesman. All the carpets at HD have wear or performance ratings and "face weights" and I was told that all carpet should have these comparable numbers (industry standard). I just talked to the Empire salesman who claims these are made up numbers from HD and they don't have anything comparable - this doesn't sound right to me. I told him I am trying to compare carpet quality and he just says well, this is high quality and has a 10 year warranty. He stresses how great their customer service is and that they've won the golden torch award from the BBB 2 years in a row and this is some big deal. I just looked at the BBB website and don't see what he's talking about. Another sales pitch we got was that all installers are employees, not subcontractors and therefore we would be more secure with them in our home and the company would stand behind any problems. It doesn't sound like their installers are employees from reading some of this stuff and I don't know that it really matters one way or the other anyway. And, finally, the estimate from Empire is quite a bit higher than the estimate from HD - the HD estimate also includes higher quality padding sealed in plastic (good for spills or animal accidents), and I feel that there is more information about the carpet quality. Oh, and also, when I called to make the Empire appt., I asked first, are you a company that gives one price if the decision is made on the spot and I was told, no, they don't operate that way - I said good because I'm not interested in that type of sales pitch. Well, we were told if you do this in a few days it will be at least "a couple" of hundred dollars cheaper. Specifics are lacking though - and no written estimate was given.

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Sue Gallagher
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May 10, 2007 5:14 pm EDT

I agree with everyone here regarding Empire Today, and their "business practices", or lack of. In August of 2005, we called them for information on their bath enclosures. Yes, they were out within a day, and within an hour, we had scheduled them to begin work the next day. As we only have one bathroom, and they were the first to respond to our inquiry, we foolishly went ahead before checking with anyone else. The qoute was over $3,500, which seemed much higher than I heard from other people, but we did it anyway, and scheduled them to come in immediately. The installer was out the next morning, and worked by himself all day. When I got home from work that evening he was just finishing up, and seemed to be in quite a hurry. In fact, he completely forgot to caulk around the tub, the wall sections, the shelves, etc...until my husband brought it to his attention. He then still forgot a few spaces, which again we pointed out, and he had to dig through the garbage bag to get what was left of the caulk he had thrown away. Initially, I was initially very happy with everything, and told everyone I about it, and showed people how great it had turned out. Well this didn't last long. Within a few months, the caulking on the wall sections seemed to be dis-coloring, and small black spots began forming on the caluk around the tub. I called Empire with out success several times in the next couple months. In February of 2006, I finally got a hold of a customer service manager, Mia Walker, who actually did seem concerned and contacted a repair ran to return to our house that week to determine what was going on. When I called him, he didn't even to know what I was talking about, and as someone here mentioned, not even employed by Empire Today, but he agreed to come out within week after 5:30. That DID NOT happen, The first day he was scheduled, I got home in the evening to get a message on our machine that he was there at 9:30AM so I needed to call and re-schedule an appointment. This went on for weeks, and weeks, with NO one every showing up at all. I continued to call Empire Today, e-mail through their web-site, and never once got any resolution. Due to some personal problems, we were unable to waste anymore time on them, so reluctantly I let it go for awhile. Late last year, I decided once again to try to get some resolution on this. I tried calling, e-mailing, but have never received a response back. Our tub now, is worse than ever, and you can feel water underneath the liner, which is getting worse by the day. I was told this enclosure had a "Lifetime" warranty, however, we cannot chance their shabby workmanship much longer without fear of it ruining our bathroom even worse. For the money we paid, and the supposed reputation Empire is supposed to have, this is the most unacceptable job anyone has ever seen. We are now going to have to call out another company to FIX something Empire Today never installed correctly in the first place. I cannot believe that they continue to advertise the Customer Service while knowing that once the job is done and the checks in the bank, you'll never be able to reach them again. Should have known when they said they could not take a personal check as payment. I had to go the bank for a cashiers check for over $3,000 for the final payment, which they had no trouble taking. I will continue to advise anyone and everyone I know to never, ever, contract them for any type of job they may need. I guess we learned a valuable, and costly lesson the hard way.

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Per Sonal
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May 08, 2007 8:40 pm EDT

To the Empire reps responding to these comments: contacting the Office of the President is rarely achieved via a generic 'customersupport@' email address. Please provide the correct contact details for the head honcho - someone who can actually address and respond to these issues, and also post follow-ups to specific complaints.

I am on the verge of signing away nearly $12,000 to you and wish to make sure any complaints will be addressed promptly and to my satisfaction.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Apr 26, 2007 6:46 am EDT

I wish I had read all the complaints against Empire Today before I signed away a good chunk of change for them to install my carpet and tiling. They have a high pressure sales tactic, which I didn't like, but I thought the price was fair and figured they would at least be fast. In fact, they were slower than any other contractor I've ever worked with. The tiling work was very sloppy and uneven, so it had to be redone. They had to come back 5 times to finish the job and this took almost two months. During this time, I filed two complaints and tried to reach numerous people for help. This company DOES NOT reply to or care about customer issues. They are all about a fast buck but not about quality and customer care. I was stood up three times by them and had to spend countless hours tracking them down because I was continually ignored by them. Even when I filed a second complaint, I had to call them back 5 days later because they ignored it. Then I tried to escalate it, but still people didn't call me back or follow through. In the end, they didn't resolve the issues to my satisfaction although the carpet and tiling was finally installed. I was horribly disappointed by them and think they are a disgusting example of a company just out for themselves. I noticed they apologized for some of the complaints I've read online. They apologized to me too, but it's their actions that count. Everything they do in dealing with customers makes it crystal clear that they do not care at all about you as a customer or providing quality service. An apology isn't worth a darn thing for all the unprofessionalism, poor quality, and wasted time you'll have to spend to get them to do what you paid them for.

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Rebekah Clerk
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Apr 24, 2007 6:06 am EDT

Dear Valued Customers,

Thank you for your postings about your experiences with Empire Today. It is the goal of Empire to provide world-class customer service to every customer. We ask that anyone with outstanding issues please contact the Office of the President at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com. One of our Resolution Associates will be happy to work with you towards resolution.

Sincerely,

Rebekah Clerk
Manager, Office of the President
Empire Today

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Ellen
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Apr 23, 2007 6:17 am EDT

Empire Today is the most non-professional company I have ever worked with. They come in, take your money up front, and could not care less to do a decent job or to finish it as promised. Sure, they may show up in one day, but good luck getting them to finish the job or correct mistakes. Count on have low quality work and NO ONE to help you, despite filing numerous complaints and spending numerous hours trying to get your issues resolved. They have no respect or concern for customers. Do not let this big company suck you in. They are arrogant enough to think that they have enough business that they can treat customers like dirt. They should not be in business.

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Shannon
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Apr 20, 2007 9:45 pm EDT

I also advise everyone to steer clear of Empire Today! We had a series of mistakes on their part which resulted in half our house not being usable for almost two months. I had to call and call and call to try to get people out to do the job right and they kept ignoring us and stood us up three times. I filed a complaint against them to the Better Business Bureau, but even with that they didn't have the decency to fix the issue. They are just out to take your money and have NO concern for customer service or quality.

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Angelo Arvin
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Apr 13, 2007 4:08 pm EDT

I am in San Diego. We just got a new estimate for laminate wood from Empire Today, VISTA- California. It was fairly good quote provided to us by Empire Salesman. The Sales Person is very knowledgeable, polite and professional.

However, we decided to cancel the installation after reading this email. Why, Empire Salesman did not provide the itemized cost / breakdown of the cost that I don't know and I did not bother to ask the Sales Rep.

I think moving forward, it would be very helpful for any customer to get an itemized / breakdown of cost to understand where this $$$ is coming from. It does not matter whether the cost is high as long it is itemized.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
LION777

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J. Jimenez
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Apr 03, 2007 11:00 am EDT

I am a sales person for empire. Not everyone in the company is bad. The company is very large and there will be some bad seeds. I apologize for your bad experience you had. I personally feel that the sales person is responsible to present the company professionally and help to serve the customer. I can assure you that I always try to do my best for the customer and the client. Is it always possible to make everyone happy, No. But we do try. Empire provides an awesome service for their clients. Who do you know of that can provide you with next day installs, same day estimates, free in home samples and services at your time. It only takes one call to report a service issue, and in NC they respond within 24- 48 hours. They are fast, dependable and the best at what they do. Is that worth something, you bet.

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Julianne Gentile
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Apr 01, 2007 11:18 am EDT

We had a terrible experience with Empire Today as well. We had a high-pressure salesman, but despite our better judgment we spent thousands of dollars for flooring throughout our home. They rushed us through so much that we never took the time to investigate or look around because they install the next day.

We ordered both laminate and carpeting. The laminate is fine, but I think we overpaid. However, the carpet is another story. The installers were rude and left heavy furniture in the wrong location. When we called to ask them to please move the furniture back they were "unavailable." The carpet itself was not very attractive and sheds like crazy. The installers left obvious seams in odd places and there are strings sticking up from where they made sloppy cuts on the stairs.

I would warn everyone to do your homework before making a purchase like this.

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Dirk
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Mar 06, 2007 5:59 am EST

man, they are quick...I just got the following email:

To: dirkXXX@yahoo.com
Subject: you win free tile.
From: "vinnytheslug"
Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 05:56:55 -0800

E-Mail from "vinnytheslug" to "Dirk" at dirkXXX@yahoo.com on www.complaintsboard.com

this is vinny. we appreciate your comments about us. please come to new york so we can show you some things.

If you think that you recieved this E-mail by mistake, please report it to complaintsboard@gmail.com, administrator staff.

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Dirk
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Mar 06, 2007 5:49 am EST

Couple things...first of all, realize that Empire is just a bunch of middle men. I'm picturing scummy, self made guys with Rolex's and lots of gold jewelry. They've been working one scam or another since middle school.

They put ads out there looking for people to work as sub contractors. These people, especially the sales people, don't care about anything except for how much your sale is EARNING THEM! Comeon, this should come as no surprise.

You are partially to blame for not saying no.

Grow some you know whats.

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Steven Duke
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Dec 26, 2006 5:19 pm EST

Very similar experience today. Estimate from salesman worked out at around $60 per yard for some average carpet. He would not give me a per yard cost so I sat down and worked it out after he left. I cancelled immediately and put in a complaint about the rep.

These guys obviously don't care about the damage they are doing to their own brand.

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Lumpy
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Dec 15, 2006 3:54 pm EST

About a year ago I contracted with Empire Today to replace the windows in my townhouse. Along with the windows I also bought trim which the sales person assured me included jambs. I contracted to pay $7290 for this job. This cost was after a 20% discount for being a BJ’s member and an additional 20% discount for being a government employee.

They never installed the jambs and did not install the trim on the kitchen window or the upstairs bathroom window. After the sale person got me to sign the contract and make a down payment of $1822.50 for the windows and the trim I never heard from her again.

They installed windows that changed the size of the window openings by installing a frame that is attached to the inside of the original frame. They never took out the appropriate permits for this installation which they say they will do on their "Everything Included System" form.

After they finished the first day of the installation they insisted that I sign the Certificate of Completion form with the stipulation that they come back to complete the installation with the exception of the jambs that they said I was not entitled to. I was under a great deal of duress. On the Certificate of Completion it shows the Total Contract Amount $7,290.00, Payments Rec'd: $3,856.25 which I assumed and the contractor that was at my house agreed included my down payment and a refund for not installing the jambs and the trim, Financing: $0.00, Allowance: $0.00, Balance: $3,433.75, COD Amount: $3,433.75 which I paid with my Master Card. They came back two weeks later to finish the items listed in the "still to be completed" area of the form.

In March they said that I owed them another $1,822.50 because there was no refund for the work that I was told would be done that wasn't. Now their agent, Richenbacher Collection Services, is threatening me with a lien on my house, even though the contract says that the contract does not create a mortgage or lien against my property.

Please help me with these problems,the sales person making promises that the company has no intention of keeping and making them stop demanding payment for work that they did not do.

Thank you for your time.

Eileen Joyce

12/14/2006 at 5:55 pm

This is in response to the "Resolution in Progress" posting. As of this time I have NOT heard from Empire Today. There has been no offers. I am the only person that will be making any decisions about this matter!

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Lumpy
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Dec 13, 2006 7:16 pm EST

Late summer of 2006 I called empire carpet. Sure as promised in their commercials a salesman came to my home and he recommended his highest quality carpet. I liked the look so I agreed. The carpet was installed in my basement the next day for almost three thousand dollars. About a month later I noticed little loops coming out all over the carpet. After about four months it had gotten so bad that we decided to call empire to see what they can do. Their installers came back and said that they could just cut off the loops which would just reappear soon after but there was nothing they could do to repair it. After calling them several times an inspector was sent to my home a couple of weeks later. He noticed the loops coming apart all over the carpet, he examined my vacuum cleaner and found no problems with the vacuum he then took lots of pictures and left. A week later, I receive a letter from empire telling me that my carpet meets all industry standards and is free of all manufacturing defects. It is obvious to me that although they realize that by their own admission that there is something wrong with the carpet, They are not whiling to do anything about it. So now I am stock with a very expensive carpet that looks like crap and is getting worse by the minute and empire's response is simply: Too bad so sad, we've got your money, tough luck you are on your own. And if you would like your carpet replaced, hand over another three thousand and our salesman will sell you another defective carpet with a smile on his face as he convinces you that you are buying the best quality carpet for the best price in the world.

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Empire-Today
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Nov 22, 2006 1:01 am EST

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Total customer satisfaction is important to us here at Empire Today. We take customer feedback very seriously and we are always striving to improve the customer’s experience. We have reviewed your posting and are currently researching this matter. You will be contacted within 24 hours to address your concerns in full detail.