Complaint Review: Empire Today

On July 9, 2011 we ordered $5,340.00 in carpet for our new home.  The installers did an excellent job with the actual installation and we were very pleased with their work.  When they had finished with the installation they went out on our back deck and cut several small pieces of carpet to place in front of each door to protect the new carpet.  It wasnt until the following day when our plumber arrived to install our new $2,000 acrylic bathtub did we realize that the Empire Today installers had used the box containing our bathtub to cut the small pieces of carpet.  The box holding the bathtub was slashed where the carpet was cut and the bathtub sustained several large slashes as well.  We were obviously very upset by this and immediately contacted Empire Today customer service at (866)588-2383.  The person I spoke with originally put my mind at ease when he commented No problem, this is why we have insurance.  He took my information and informed me that someone would be contacting me shortly. 

 Several days later I received a call from the local installation manager and made arrangements for her to come out for a site visit.  From the moment she arrived at our home she was extremely defensive of her contractors and said on several occasions that her installers wouldnt cut carpet on the deck.  I informed her that not only had my husband seen them cutting on the deck but that we also had the knife.  I showed her the knife covered in carpet fibers, slashed box, small pieces of carpet that matched the cuts on the box, and finally the damaged bathtub.  When she left she asked if she could take the knife with her and we obliged.

 A week later I received a call from her and she informed me that she did not believe her installers did the damage.  She said her husband works at a paint shop and she had him look at the knife and he told her that it was a painters knife.  Her conclusion was that our painters had cut the carpet.  I reminded her that my husband had seen her installers cutting carpet on the deck and she told me she didnt believe that was true.  I informed her that I was extremely offended by her insinuation that we were lying and asked to speak with her manager.  She told me her managers name is Mario Lopez and that he was out of town and would call me in a few days.  I waited several days and finally contacted customer service again to get in contact with Mr. Lopez.  I left him a message and two days later received a call back from him.  Mr. Lopez told me that they did not believe their installers damaged our bathtub and that there was no further action they would be taking on their end.  I asked who I could speak with at that point and he let me know that he was the final decision maker.  

As you can imagine, we are very disappointed with how this situation was handled.  When looking for a carpet manufacture/installer, we received multiple bids and although Empire was more expensive than most we opted to go with your company because we felt a national company would stand behind its product, installation, and customer service.  We are bitterly disappointed with Empire Today and will not be using your company in the future.  We own several homes in San Diego, and will be recarpeting one of them early next year.  Empire has lost an excellent customer and will receive very poor reviews from us.  

One last note, we were able to find a repair facility that specializes in acrylic repairs.  We were able to get our new tub repaired for $150.  This would have been a small price for Empire to pay to retain a customer as well asreceive any referrals we would have sent their way.