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HIGH PRICES - MISSED INSTALLATION DATE/TIME - MISLEADING INFORMATION
The salesperson came to the house and quoted a very high price. After a lot of uncomfortable discussion the salesperson applied a 20% discount, then an additional 10%, then a coupon special, almost cutting the original quote by 60%!!
I was not in a hurry for the installation but the salesperson wanted it the next day (it was the end of the month and I think the salesperson wanted credit for this month). The saleperson called to confirm the carpet was in stock and that an instalation crew was available for the next day. While still at our house, the salesperson recieved a return call comfirming the instalation for the next day between 1-6PM.
At 4 PM I called to get the status and was told they could install today but would install the carpet a day later: not today as promised and confirmed. When I asked to speak to a manager I got the sales manager "Robert" (would not give me his last name or retun phone number). He told me the carpet I selected was a special order and would take 2 weeks to get. I told him that was unacceptable and he was able to come up with a carpet to install the next day "Promptly" at 8AM. I set my alarm and held my breath.
At 8:30 AM I called to see where they were I was told the carpet would be installed "Between 8AM and 6PM". I asked for "Robert" again but he was not available. I went to Home Depot and got a quote for the same carpet that was 15% lower then the final installed price quoted by Empire Flooring. I don't know how these people stay in business. I would recommend not doing business with Empire Flooring.
We had Empire come out to give us a free estimate for installing laminate over our 30 year old hardwood floors that we weren't ready to have refinished. There was no carpet to take up and the whole area measured roughly 1000st ft. They quoted us $9000 and then after getting on the phone with his manager, he gave us a special, one time only offer of $7500 if we signed a contract that day.
Hubby and I laughed - we knew it was rude, but we just couldn't help it! - and said thanks, but no thanks. The sales rep got angry when we told him that we'd have to decline his very generous offer. He said that we'd just go running to Lowes or Home Depot and get a lower quote on an inferior product. I laughed and told him that no, I'd go buy the best quality laminate I could and just install it myself!
W couple weeks later we did buy our own quality laminate and I installed it all by myself - no problems - for a savings of over $5000! Empire is a rip off!
I haven't done business with them for 20 years, when they only did carpet. They must be trying to live off reputation. I don't remember the numbers but price was in line with others. It was installed the next day. I had a sign hanging in the service dept I ran that said
GOOD, QUICK, CHEAP. We can do all three. You can have any two.
Thank God I have read this thread. I was going to try to schedule them for carpet because I thought they would be a lot cheaper and couldn't screw things up like Home Depot did for my last carpet installation. Guess I was wrong. On to Lowes for my carpet I guess. Maybe they will get it right and be reasonable cost wise.
A lot of those "TV" places operate like that. We had Closet Masters come out to give us an estimate for garage cabinets. We could have purchased a new house cheaper..!
The sales person gets a huge cut, so they start high and then start giving special discounds and deals if you sign today.
We ran her off and hired a small local cabinet builder who gave us beautiful cabinets for a fraction of the cost.
It doesn't matter if it's carpets, cabinets, or water softners, shop carefully and don't let the high pressure guys in the door.
Thank God I have read this thread. I was going to try to schedule them for carpet because I thought they would be a lot cheaper and couldn't screw things up like Home Depot did for my last carpet installation. Guess I was wrong. On to Lowes for my carpet I guess. Maybe they will get it right and be reasonable cost wise.
HD and Lowes both use outside contractors, so it's the luck of the draw whether or not you get a good one or not.
I prefer HD over Lowes, but I would find an independent store over either for any kind product which require an outside contractor. Shop around, find a family owned local store that has a good history. Best if you can get a recommendation from someone... Good luck
Do not expect good service after the floor has been installed either! Waited from 12 pm to 7 pm and still a no show! Laminate floor had a bubble after only 2 years!?!?!? Customer service line does not really seem to care? I would not use empire if the gave me the flooring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I recently went to Empire for new carpet. The imbecile they sent over didn't seem to know what a written "Estimate" is. I had to tell him 3x that I wanted a Written Estimates. Seems like he had problems breaking things down. Swore they'd give me 60% off on of carpeting. I had two other estimates from contractors and Empire came in third, way higher than the other two contractors.
Beware - don't order custom blinds from empire today!!!!
Whatever you do, DON'T ORDER CUSTOM BLINDS FROM EMPIRE TODAY!!!!
The service representatives for this outfit are horrendous. The communication is nonexistent and they sold us a product that they don't even make. But it took a month to find that out.
They happily took our money and said it would be a while before our custom blinds were done. But we had no idea how long it would take
It started okay. We were psyched to have a nice rep come to our house quickly after making our initial inquiry. He showed us samples, took measurements and took our third-down deposit. And then warned us that it would be a long time before we saw our blinds - like a month, month and a half. Gulp. Well, okay. We can wait because they're exactly what we want. But that should've been a first clue.
Then quickly the real installer came out and he told us that we should call the factory directly (bypassing our rep) and push them along. That was the second clue.
Then we didn't hear anything for weeks. So I called the rep. Oh! They don't make the type of blinds you want in the material you want. (Third clue) Okay... So we went with our second choice fabric for the same price.
Waited 2 more weeks. Called the factory to check on the status. They hadn't even been started!! There was a note that the rep was supposed to call us because {{{drum roll. please}}} they don't make the blinds we ordered! He was supposed to call us and see if we would change the order - again! - but if I hadn't called them, who knows when I would have heard from them.
So I cancelled the order. And, guess what? It's going to take about 2 weeks to refund my $650 deposit.
All tolled, they had my money for nearly 2 months and I got nothing but frustration in return.
So, if you like poor customer service, super-long turnaround and overpriced products, then, sure, order your custom blinds through Empire Today.
Just have the Tums ready for the heartburn they're gonna cause.
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Diy
