We used Empire Today to install laminate flooring and a small area of carpeting. They DO NOT install next day, and as a matter of fact our home was ripped up with carpet tacks sticking up from the unfinished work for over a week. The laminate installer was wonderful, doing a custom job for us. The carpet installers were a nightmare.
They came to our house early in the morning and began installing the carpet we had ordered as a runner up our stairs. The carpet looked ridiculous, not meeting the edges of the laminate and leaving large "cut" marks with green material on either side. Not that this bothered the installers as they continued working despite the fact that it was obvious it was all wrong. I attempted to ask them to stop but not one of the three workers spoke English.
When I finally called Empire, they stopped the work and sent the original sales person back to the house for a "second choice" for carpet. As others have said, Empire has very little selection and the quality of the carpet ranges from poor to mediocre. We chose a carpet that we didn't exactly want but it was the least crappy carpet with a color that almost matched. Far less than satisfied, but what could we do at that point but rip the whole staircase out and start over, they finished the work and we paid in full the balance that had been billed to our account.
Every two weeks or so for the next three months, someone from Empire would call us either to confirm carpet had been installed or to set up an appointment to install our already installed carpet. A nuisance yes, annoying and time consuming, but not a total surprise considering how poor the service had been to this point. Then, 7 months later I receive a statement from GE Money, Empire's inhouse finance company, for an additional $600.00.
Huh? I think it is an error and contact GE to refute the charge but was told they had an authorization from Empire. I contacted Empire, three times over three days and got nowhere. All they could do was provide a reference number for the complaint and then tell me the person I needed to speak with was never available. I finally sent a fax to the corporate office stating I would be taking them to small claims court if no response was received.
A manager contacted me and stated they had done an audit and that the $600 was owed. I am mailing a check to them today, but not before I tell everyone I know in person, on the internet and by mail if I can, that Empire is a rip off; in service, in quality and in cost. Run as far and as fast as you can and do not, DO NOT, believe their ads.
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