This is going to be a long, long and disgusting story for all to read. It would be in your very best interest however to read this in its' entirety before ever considering to hire Empire Today.
Our saga begins with a shady salesman by the name of Bill Gannon. He quoted us to do laminate flooring in our bathroom, kitchen and dining room. We agreed with this character to go with Empire based on his telling us several times that "in the 45 years Empire has been in business they have never had a complaint with the Better Business Bureau." Additionally, we pointed out to him we wanted the dining and kitchen floor level and were aware of a dip in the kitchen floor. We were assured by Mr. Gannon that this would not be a problem, should not require a subfloor, this product (laminate) will "compensate" for any flaws and if necessary, Empire can "fix" the problem. He also pointed out that the flooring installers will inspect everything first.
Therefore, based on Mr. Gannon verbally providing this information while having us signing contracts as he talked, we now very regrettably agreed to have Empire do the job.
The installers were also made aware of the dip in the kitchen floor prior to starting their work. They virtually repeated the same thing Mr. Gannon did. This should be no problem, once again stating this product would "make up for the dip and we can do additional things to make it right." They did not recommend anything else prior to their installation.
Upon completion we noted the dip was still there as well as very much flexing going on around that area (due to double padding in some areas, which is a no-no we found out later). We were just dumbfounded by the results; totally inconsistent with what we were quoted. Moreover, all of the trim was sloppy and none of the quarter round was finished off on the ends.in fact, they installed the quarter round over the heat register in our bathroom!
I called Mr. Gannon who said he would speak to his flooring inspector and get back to me. To this day (3 weeks now), Mr. Gannon has yet to return my call, which should have been a common courtesy follow-up. The flooring inspector, Heath, called us and came over to check the flooring the following week. He agreed it was not right, both the dip and the major flexing and said he could straighten it out, make everything firm and tight and level, which should result in a 90 some odd percent improvement. To further back my suspicions, I made sure I had a witness in our home at the time of Heath's inspection. Therefore, my brother, who is a 25-year Sargent with the Kent County Sheriff's Department was present to hear of the promised resolution.
The so-called "pro" installer, Anthony, just completed what they consider the improvement this past Thursday, Nov. 2. As they completed the job and awaited my signing this paper proving they did their work, I stood crying. I told them I was not satisfied; the floor was no where near improved, but much, much worse. He got on the phone with his supervisor and I was told that was all they could do and I have a one-year warranty if anything should happen within that time.
The fact of the matter is, I now have a floor that literally is like walking on a pillow top mattress. It is an absolute joke. There is so much give you can actually see the tongue-in groove joints between the panels give tremendously with each step. I invited another carpenter to review the finished job and he too laughed at the outcome. He said they did a sloppy "patch" job and it could have and should have been done much better without having to do anything structural. I did not sleep all night. I have not slept well since the first installers came into my home.
I then called the Empire Customer Service line at 8:00 A.M. The following morning and spoke with Marcia, who was extremely rude. I was crying, upset, emotional and accidentally used the "s*" word when describing the outcome of the work done. I immediately apologized for my language, but she had to make a point to "scold" me 3 times thereafter for using such language on the phone. I should have been "pampered" after everything I had just been through, not scolded!
She stated she would forward the information to a Patricia Kelley to handle this case. I also attempted to reach someone at headquarters myself as that is what I initially requested when I called. I left a message with a perfect stranger since Marcia would not provide me with any names.
Unbeknownst to me who this person was, he did call me back and stated Troy Pringle would be returning my call and handling this as he is the district manager for this part of the state. As the day rolled on, going on 3:30 P.M. With no return phone call from anyone, I prepared to contact the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General and Target 8 Investigation for further action on my part.
It was quite a surprise to discover through the Better Business Bureau of Grand Rapids, Michigan that there are hundreds, close to a couple thousand claims filed with them against Empire. The problem is, they can only be found through the Better Business Bureau of Illinois. Not everyone would know that. But more importantly, we were lied to from the beginning regarding this matter. Not surprising since we now know about everything else we were lied to about as well.
I called the Empire customer service line one last time at 6:30 that same evening to let them know I want no part of their company, to remove everything and I will owe them absolutely nothing.
Magically, Patricia Kelley returns a phone call. Frankly, she was no better than Marcia. Where do you folks obtain your training for customer service? North Korea? She argued with me, told me of these "contracts" we signed, how everything we said was "heresay" and their contracts would hold up in court, heresay would not. It was like talking to a brick wall.
Her resolution was to knock 1/2 off my total bill if I was willing to accept the job they had just done. The stipulation was that I had to accept it right then on the phone or the offer was void. Why would I accept that? We hired Empire to do our flooring right, we were told it would be and if any problems, they could remedy it; all stating they did not feel there would be any issues. I refused the offer and told her I would take this farther. I had absolutely had it.
After about 20 minutes, Patricia called me back. She asked if I thought this gentleman that inspected the floor on my behalf could have done a better job than Empire did. I said absolutely, without a doubt. She then offered she would work with me by having their company remove all of the flooring, and letting the independant carpenter I knew make the necessary repairs at their expense and then Empire would put the flooring back down. She also stated "perhaps there is something differently we (Empire) are not doing that we could learn as well." I insisted only if all new materials would be used as now this would be the second time it is lifted.
Additionally I pointed out there is a chip in the floor of my bathroom due to the removal of bad trim work. Patricia agreed stating "only if this person can do the repairs without any structural work, and if he still did not do it right, I would then be liable for his expense plus what I still owe Empire. I then contacted the other carpenter to confirm this and he also agreed, stating to me he could make it much better than what it is without doing anything structural.
Today I received a message from Patricia on my phone stating she spoke with Mr. Uzarski this morning (the carpenter who could make this right, as I was originally promised by Heath), and because he DID NOT previously see the floor in the condition before the repairs as I had said, they will not be responsible for the repairs. WHAT??? I thought I was hearing things! I called her back and she very coldly stated to me she had already left a message for me with an answer.
I told her Mr. Uzarski had been in my home many times and may not remember the dip in the floor, which isn't that extensive, however he did see the finished product and said he could make the floor much better than what it is, just as we were told by Heath. The fact that he might not have seen it before or even remember it is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. He can fix it, just like Empire said they could fix it, but they did not, they made it worse than it was before!
Once again Ms. Kelley, thriving on your contracts explained I would get nowhere and they can do nothing more. I told her I would then take this further, which I am just beginning. Per your "contract, " Empire should have inspected the floor first and made sure it was okay for flooring. And, according to our specifications of wanting it level and pointing out the "dip, " it should have been Empire's responsibility to make sure it could be done properly by them or recommend doing so before the flooring was laid.
Now I am being lied to about who is going to pay for the problem, which was there in the first place, and should have been addressed in the first place if it could not have been rectified properly by them. Empire had no right to do anything if they could not have provided us with what we were quoted for in the first place. Contract or no contract.
Incidentally, the dumping of any waste material is considered "an illegal discharge into our sewer systems." You might want to let Anthony know that since he dumped the unused material into 2 separate manholes in the road in front of our house. Not to worry, I have pictures. I am sure if this goes to court, the supposed "heresay" told by us, including one such law enforcement person, will be strongly considered.
You people are just a total bunch of liars with absolutely no respect or regard for your customers!!! You fill your pocketbooks with money while 'screwing' many people along the way.
Shame on all of you! Especially you Mr. Pringle, you should have handled this, not your "advocate, " Patricia. Of course at this point, why should we expect anything differently from you either!
Mr. Silvers, Senior Vice President, we certainly hope you are very proud of this testimony.
Karen
Grand Rapids, Michigan
U.S.A.
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