I called Empire because their TV commercial claims that they can install carpet the next day and I needed the carpet installed in a hurry. They sent a man to my house who took my order and told me my carpets would be installed the next day.
The next day, I was home alone with my newborn and my thirteen month old when three men showed up at my front door an hour later than promised. None of the workers identified themselves as Empire Employees, but then again, not a single one of them could speak intelligible English. I found the person who could speak the best English and showed him the basement where the carpets were to be installed and told him that it would be best to go through the back door. Needless to say, he could not understand me and the workers began to unload the carpet and tools through my front door, through my kitchen and down the basement stairs.
In the process of getting set up, the workers who were going back and forth through my kitchen somehow snapped off a piece of my countertop. I asked them to stop using the kitchen as a walkway and pull the truck out back - they couldn't understand what I was saying and each time one of the workers came up through the kitchen, they would snag the countertop again, breaking it further, each time muttering a feeble, "sorry."
When they finished installing the carpet, I went downstairs to check it out and discovered that they installed the wrong color carpet. Not only did they install the wrong color carpet, but there were lumps in the carpet because they failed to remove staples that were left in the floor from the previous carpet. Because I was home alone with the two kids, I decided not to discuss it with the installers and instead decided to call the 800 number once they left. It took about a half an hour for the guy to get my credit card authorized.
By that time, I just wanted these people out of my house. I called the 800 number and explained to customer service what had happened. They sent a representative out to my house the next day and he assured me that this was unacceptable and it would be taken care of. This was in January. It is now the end of June and still no reimbursement.
I cannot get the broken piece of countertop fixed, three different companies assured me that i will need an entirely new countertop. I sent the estimates to Empire, the least expensive being about $2100. They also agreed to reimburse me $200 off the price of the carpet since I can live with the color carpet that they gave me. Not to mention the fact that my mother-in-law already moved in the basement and it would be such a hassle to move all of her stuff to have another carpet installed.
Each time my husband speaks to someone from Empire, they assure us that this will all be resolved "Monday." I can't tell you how many Mondays have gone by with no resolution!!!
Adding insult to injury, the man who installed the carpet call us this past Friday, telling us that he doesn't want to go through his insurance company. He then offered us $500 to "make this all go away." It's amazing how much more clear his English became when he called us. I have explained to him and to Empire that I did not hire him to install my carpets, EMPIRE hired him.
Furthermore, I don't care what they have to do in order to fix my countertop. I just want it fixed. I had planned on putting my house on the market this summer, but cannot until my kitchen counter is fixed. With two babies, and being out on maternity leave, we don't have that kind of money.
In closing, Empire charged us almost $1000 to carpet a room that a reputable carpet installer would charge about $500. They sent second rate employees to do the job incorrectly, damaged my home and refuse to pay for the mistakes that were made. It's been six months and still no solution to the problem!
0 comments