Empire Today
Reviews and Complaints

Enough is enough ... someone has to put a stop to Empire-Today's madness.
Everything written here is true.
Empire-Today sells low quality carpet for upper range pricing.
Empire-Today uses very low criteria for hiring installers.
Empire-Today's Sales Reps will tell their customers virtually anything to get a sale.
Empire-Today's Sales Reps are not employees, they are independent corporations. The result is that Empire-Today isn't legally liable for any promise that a rep makes to a customer. Also, the rep has no liability either, that's why they are required to be corporations.
Empire-Today's Sales Reps are paid a sliding scale commission. They make very little commission on each sale, unless they are able to get the customer to pay 30-50% more than they would typically pay elsewhere for carpeting of comparable quality. In that case, they make a very high commission.
Empire-Today's NEXT-DAY installation is designed to get the flooring installed as quickly as possible. That way they keep the customer from going to a competitor and discovering how over-priced they are.
Empire-Today's 50-60% sales are only on 2 styles of carpeting, both of which will be priced higher on sale than anywhere else at retail.
Empire-Today's Sales Reps will tell a prospect various stories about what's on sale and what's not on sale, depending on how they think they can manipulate the customer.
Empire-Today prays on people who would rather stay at home than go shopping themselves.
Empire-Today's warranties are written so that they are virtually non-enforceable. Read them carefully and you will see for yourself.
Empire-Today monitors all these sites and will do anything possible to remove responses like mine.
Come on people ... use your heads. Shop somewhere reputable ! ! !
Good luck

Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire. We are dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. Unfortunately, we are unable to reference your account with the name provided on this website. We would like to work with you to resolve your concerns. Please contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.

I work at a retailer that sells flooring, i can say from experience that all the money issues should have been delt with prior to the installer's coming over as this seems to be the brunt of the drama.

Laminate will scratch yes but not easily, even the cheap stuff will not scratch easily, you have to keep in mind that pets with claws not trimmed will not scratch laminate.

I see you mentioned that the installer said that it will scratch if you move furniture across it, all you simply have to do is get some felt pads or pads that go on the bottom of furniture, you can buy them at home depot, PROBLEM SOLVED LOL.

It sounds like he said that just to irk you, dont be irk'd your flooring is fine.

Im sorry to hear that you got poor customer service, youll probably be better off next time if you use your local home depot or "lowes".

I recently hired Empire Today for carpet and laminate flooring for my home. What a mistake. The mintue the installer hit the driveway he demanded his money up front. I explained that my Fiance would bring it home on his lunch hour, half being paid in check and half in cash. They don't except personal checks so he had to call his office for approval before starting the job. He got approval and started installing the laminate. The carpet installers showed up two hours later and they wanted their money for the carpet installation. I explained how I intended to pay and the previous approval recieved from the laminate installer and noticed that they were just hanging around and not doing much. The carpet installer said that their policy with Empire was that the carpet was paid on one invoice and the laminate paid on another invoice. I told him I hired Empire one company, one payment. My Fiance came home and left me the money and went back to work. Shortly after the laminate installer comes in and tells me that he is going to finish the hallway and he is walking off the job. I was stunned, he never had discussed the payment other then the early morning and had he came to me after lunch I would have given him the money and so on, after a heated discussion the laminate installer refused to deal with me, payment was counted and processed with the carpet installer who didn't want to hold the money and gave it back to me. Prior to all this I was told by the laminate floor installer that my flooring was not all that it was suppose to be according to my sales rep, that the flooring will scratch by simply sliding a piece of furniture over it. The entire experience was a nightmare. Go through Lowes or someone that has a great product, sales team and so on. Empire Today Sucks!

Hi my name Bradd I just went through your training in San Francisco it was 2 weeks . The trainer was from LA area Jonnie, She said that she was there because the union city trainer needed help. It was very disorganize because she did not have the proper training material. I just figured she was from out of town. Your recruiter was Jennifer Hansen and said that I could do this part time your ad says I can do this part time with flexible hours. Since I have a medical issues I thought it would be a good fit. After the 2 week training we have the SF Trainer for 1 day he gave a test and was mostly rude. Ross was his name. We went to p/u samples at the office and was told this is not a part time job but mon- sat 9-7 . Also i did not get any carpet padding or vinly cut out and lamanit . I work with some property mgr company that would have like to see some of that and window treatments. and they did like the next day install . Base on my experience with your mgr at union city I will not recmand them to you. Maybe you should give them a better training on how handle part time .We had the Dm walk right passed us without saying a hello even. I tried to talk to Wille our mgr about my situation. He said that empire throws as many people against the wall and see what ### sticks as in people . I see why your nps score is so low in this market . the mgr are very unprof and rude to their contractors . I thought you should know to protect your image . You can call me at707 586 1433 if you care. I just got back from dropping off my supplies And to be fair I brought the corporate ad that say that you welcome part time contractors. Ross told me thats not true only full time and didn't seem to care about what the ad said.
THANK YOU Bradd Shattuck

The president of Empire-Today is Mr. Steve Silvers; he can be reached through their corporate offices in Northlake, Il. The actual owner of Empire-Today is Mr. David Elenowitz. He can be reached directly through his office at Mercury Capital, L.P., 153 E 53rd St. 49th floor, New York, NY 10022. His phone is [protected]. I hope this helps you. If so, pass it on.

Actually, I found a place for laminate floor for 99 CENT SQ F! The warranty is for 50 years!

That is amazing, imagine all I can save. They installed it, they saud the installation is going to be around 500 bucks for 300 sg of my kitchen. Well, the store installed it in 10 days, it cost me 99 cents plus tax, but the installers charged me around 900 buck, the store said they dont have nothing to do whith installations prices, so I just paid it. The installation was fine, but, this store made me signed the 50 years warranty, and for my surprise, they said that once the floor is installed, the warranty is VOID! what in earht is that! A few months later, the laminate started to bend upwards, I called the store and I was told someone will be going to my hose in the next week. They indeed came the next, next, next week (three weeks later) and said that the laminate I purchased is very low quality and if I want it to last longer I should purchase new flooring! That is outrageous! Next thing is that they will charge me 500 bucks to fix just a few laminates that are bending!

I had an estimate for empire today, but i learned from this blog that empire is a ripoff and that is not woth it, so I went to another store suggested in this blog, then all started to go wrong...

I learned my lesson, I should bought it from empire today in the first place, since they offered me an extraordinary flooring with written warranty and one year installation warranty. That is peace of mind. Next time, I will not be cheap as some people in this blog, shame for me, shame for you...

I am presently going thru the same thing. The interest hit my account in Jan. of this year, $2500.00 and now I am making monthly payments and not getting anywhere with the balance. Even called GE Money and they were not helpful at all. I will never ever suggest anyone to use Empire Carpets Today or Ge money.

I am presently going thru the same situation. I don't argue the fee( interest come due@years end) BUT, I feel the amount of credit extended ($6000 as opposed to $7500) to me should have been enough to cover the finance charge if the bill was to come full circle after one year. Now GE wants to charge me $39 a mo. until The balance is paid down under $6000. That could take me on a monthly basis app. one whole year of regular payments, plus overlimit fees. (Extra $480) No exceptions, no waving of fee, no credit extension; not to mention having my credit report reflecting possible late fees, & constant overlimit notations.

Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire. We are dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. Unfortunately, we are unable to reference your account with the name provided on this website. We would like to work with you to resolve your concerns. Please contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.

Hey man,

I hate to inform you, but this is not a a scam. This is something that is clearly disclosed in the documentation you signed or otherwise agreed to.

Yes, The salesman who's paid only comission for every sale didn't say, Oh and BTW, while I have you interested and ready to pay for this right out let me warn you that after 12 months, you will have to pay the entire loans' balance of interest if it's not paid in 12 months". That's not something he's paid to do, he's there to sell you a rug and get the hell out of there. Its your job as the consumer to make sure you read everything BEFORE you sign. Only if something is not disclosed on paper, you are not liable for such charges. If you didn't read the fine print, well sucks to be you buddy. Be happy you only got charged 30% interest, I've seen them as high as 50% or more.

I've worked for a bank for years, and this type of business has been out there for quite some time. "No Payments, No Interest for 12 Months" always means, 12 months, No interest ONLY IF YOU PAY IT OFF". Yes, it's not clearly disclosed in the title of the loan application, but with anything dealing with YOUR money, you MUST read every bit of fine print before you sign.

Mind you, I fuggin hate empire carpets, their salemen are complete tards, but this is not their fault. This is your negligence.

In all fairness, though I am aware that in sales there are dishonest sales folks, there are never the less dishonest folks in all industries.

I have sold in the, "In home" sales industry for years and I have dealt with, "Dishonest" clienst from time to time. Folks that said I said something I didn't, offered something I did not etc.

Point being, it is a two way street. I use an old principle when working with the public and it has served me well over the others and it is this:

Do under others as you would have them do unto you.

Integrity and character coupled with quality and service are a winning combination for all parties and it is how I operate.

If you have recieved less tha that I apologize for the salesman you had to deal with.

Ask for local references.

Best,
Steve

Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire Today. Empire Today is dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. We are currently looking into the concerns mentioned in your post. We will contact you within the next three business days. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.

Whenever you go anywhere and get a "One year same as cash" deal, you are always subject to compound and accrued interest at the end of the finance period. The point is that you pay your balance off before the end of the year. If you cannot do that, it does not behoove you to take advantage of their offer. It is frustrating to me that people want to blame their ignorance on the way that things work on other people. You weren't "duped" or taken advantage of. There is no fraud. Sears, Home Depot, Lowes.. all long existing reputable establishments offer the same finance terms. All of them will add the compound interest at the end of the finance period. It's just the way it works. People please educate yourselves and be your own advocate FIRST. Allowing yourself to remain ignorant to policy, and then calling "Fraud" at the end of it simply because you did not take the time to understand what you were signing up for just isn't acceptable. I have taken advantage of this financing at Sears (2x), Home Depot, and Empire Today (2x). I understood the terms, paid off the balance within the one year as I agreed to, and I have never paid one cent of interest or fees.
P.S. The Empire Today in Maryland has been phenomenal. The sales and customer service were both polite and readily available both times I used them (2008 and 2010). I wasn't sure about my own personal color choice, and they offered to take care of me. No hesitation, and no hassle. I would absolutely go with them again, and highly recommend them to my friends and family.

Also in addition to the above fraudulent pricing. DO NOT BITE ON THEIR PROMOTION - NO PAYMENT FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR... They will not mention to you that " Yes, you are not paying for one year but the interest during this time will accumulate." After their promotion date expired, BAM... your bill will all of a sudden be $500. more of what you are expecting... Their credit provider GE.. also do not have good customer relations...
BEWARE OF THIS PROMOTION!

You ask who needs NEXT DAY SERVICE. APPARENTLY YOU DID! You called them and they showed up. You didn't like the price so you complained. That's nothing new. I want to buy lots of expensive stuff in my life. When I found out I couldn't afford it, I went somewhere else. Big deal!

The product is satisfactory, but forget about service after the sale! I left two messages with customer service (where they say you will receive a call back in 24 hours). When I called again, the woman said --- oh you must have talked to your sales person. I said, no, I have two reference numbers from customer service -- do you want to hear them? She got very quiet. BUT, we did not get ANY response until my husband was able to reach the manager of custer service. The problem was that the installation did not properly fit the space and they did not care. Finally, they fixed the problem, but it took weeks.

BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE! I called Empire Today on 5/20/2008 and spoke to a representative named William. I gave them my information and scheduled my appt. I then proceeded to ask him where the company was located cause I'd never heard of them or seen stores anywhere and he became very sarcastic and said we are a national company. That means we don't have retail stores. I then asked him if the representative that would come out to the house would have samples and if I would get a final quote at the end of the visit and he said very rudely WELL YES! That is why you have an appt. I then asked him why he was annoyed by my questions. I am wanting to know about the company and how it works. Is there something wrong with that? He said I don't understand why you are asking these unecessary questions. I then told him to cancel my appointment! If they are this rude on the phone I would hate to see someone like that in my home. After hanging up I decided to look up this company and found lots of complaints from other people. I AM MOST FORTUNATE NOT HAVE DONE BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!

I have to admit I was going to call both Empire Carpeting and National Floors Direct to replace the carpeting throughout my home, along with having laminate flooring installed by the front door and in the dining area...but after reading the complaints there is no way I will do business with either company.

I want to thank all the people who took the time out of their busy lives to write in about the truth of these two companies...I only hope the saying "wht goes around comes around" holds some truth to companies like Empire and National Floors Direct.

I'm taking my business to either Home Depot or Lowes.

I just purchased carpet from Empire-Today and verified work order. I was charged for 200 yards, but they only ordered 155 yards. Salesmen obviously knew that he was quoting us and charging us an inflated amount. They ended up needing 158 yards because the role they brought was only 150 yards, so the needed something 8 feet wide to finish the job. Either way, they're still charging over 25% more for goods and services they are not deliverying.

I will be calling customer service tomorrow to ask for credit refund of difference. wish me luck!

i live in NJ, i had and free in house estimate for carpet for my living room with 12 x 16 ft and they estimated about $1700 which includes $200 discount he told. he was not giving me the price of the carpet. he was telling me the total price including installation removing the existing carpet and disposing. the 60% discount mentioned on their website was only on 1 carpet which is worst. just before the guy came in i went to home depot and i had an estimation for the same for $550 and the carpet was far far better than the one empire today showed. i strongly suggest you guys not to prefer this F^(#!ing company. all the best...

Thank you for brining your concerns to the attention of Empire Today. Empire Today is dedicated to providing world-class customer service to every customer. We are currently looking into the concerns mentioned in your post. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerSupport@empiretoday.com for further assistance.

I am tempted to agree. On a big job, the first crew was excellent. The second down right rude and abusive. When trying to handle the situation the next day, they were willing to put off fixing the problem. The cutomer service reps appeared to be there to annoy you into giving up.I finally reached the GM after approx 8 csa's. The only reason, I reached him was because I demanded it and fought hard.

No one should fight that hard to have a customer complaint handled. It seemed to me, that once the flooring was in, we did not matter. If you can, fight for your rights. Get the BBB involved. I feel for you.

I had Empire install carpeting in my dining room. Less than 1 month after installation the carpet started to unravel. It was also supposed to be stain resistant indoor/outdoor carpeting and yet it retains every single spot that ever gets on it. The sales rep seemed shady and spoke very little English. The installers spoke no English at all. I was told that the room had to be completely empty on the day of installation which I never heard of. For what I was charged, they should have just come in and done it all.

Ardith,

Thanks for the post. I recently received a quote ftom Lowe's and Empire and Empire's quote was much about $800 higher. The sales guy stated that Empire's floor is better, can be installed next day, etc. He was not the sharpest tool in the shed but I overlooked that. It was not sitting comfortable with me seeing that I knew more about installation than he did. He left the house and I called him the next day to say I was interested. On this second call, he mentions that he is not sure if the vinyl flooring needs to be removed and if so, it would be extra but we won't know until the installers arrive. He has been with Empire for 20 years and just doesn't know if it will need to be removed. I looked at the floor and I can tell it needs to be removed. Once again, this leaves a bad feeling in my gut. This post has just convinced me not to go with Empire. It is disturbing when the customer knows more than the salesperson. Once again, perhaps they are good with carpet but definately not hardwood floors.

Thanks!
written 9/24/2008

Dear Ardith Lynch,

Thank you for bringing your concerns to the attention of Empire Today. Customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to Empire Today. A member of our management team will contact you to review your order.

Yikes! We have an in-home estimate scheduled for tonight! I wonder if we should cancel. I just want a price per square foot; I'm not interested in being pressured by a used car salesman. Maybe we should just see what Home Depot or Lowe's will quote.

Ok I am glad to have read all of this today. 2/10/08 and I think I will go with Home Depot!

The ads that Empire shows on TV seemed strange to me since they are so constant.

I just think I know why now ... they are a pressure cooker it seems. Such a sad company. Must be a real downer to work for them unless you are at the top of the food chain.

Empire is a rip-off. They sure do have no good, dishonest sales people. We had a free in home estimate for 2 bedrooms and a hall. The salesperson estimated that we need 480 sq foot of carpet. Good thing my husband know measurement because we only needed 350 square foot. Also he quoted us a price of $2700 dollars of prime (the best carpet they had) . I ask about the 2 rooms and 1 hall they advertise for $599.00. He informed us that this was the cheap carpet and he don't sell that.

When we informed him that $2700.00 was way over our budget for carpet he made a call to his so called manager, to see it we can get a better deal. Low and behold we can get the prime carpet for only $1750.00. And this was a one time right now deal. After we told him that we need to talk this over and get back to him the next day. Granted this was at 9:30 pm. On October 31, 2007. We with ahead and order the carpet.

Do you know the next day Empire was adverting 50% off all their carpet. When I contact the salesman about this advertisement I was informed that this price was only for the cheaper carpet.

How can they advertise only the cheap carpet and not the prime.

Even if we had purchase the carpet at the full price and gotten the 50% discount it still would've have been cheaper than the so call discount price that the salesman gave us.

EMPIRE IS A RIP-OFF. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

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 we were not able to process this complaint because of the lack of information we have for this you. If you would like to speak to someone in regards to your concerns, please contact us at [protected] ext. 7782. This is the Office of the President.

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.

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.

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 have currently researching this matter. We have made significant improvements in the right direction for our customers in regards to customer satisfaction. We hope that you will give us the chance to show you why so many have come back to Empire-Today again for their home improvement upgrades. If you would like to speak to our Consumer Affairs Dept.