The linoleum at the family room, hallway, and kitchen of the new house that we bought have seen better days so my husband and I planned on tiling it . At first, we planned on doing it ourselves but then we wanted for it to get done quicker so we said that we would hire a company to do it. We contacted Empire Today because they sound promising. Some of my husband's co-worker said that they know some people who had their floors done by Empire Today and they were fast.
So in June 2, we had a sales representative from them came to our house to give us an estimate. After she measure everything, she came up with $9,210 which made me cringe! I wasn't planning on spending that much for it. So when we told her that we will shop around, she told us that she can work worth the price so she applied some discounts and the price came down to $7 thousand and some. It was still high for us so we said, we will shop around. She told us that she is required to talk to her boss before leaving so they talked about the pricing and the boss said that they can do $5,000. We did not buy yet, we want to make sure that we are getting a good deal.
After thinking about it overnight, my husband said that we should offer $4,500 and to our surprised, they agreed. Sp we were excited as the agent said that the job could be done in two days. We thought it is great as we want to move in as soon as the floors are done. On June 4th, the lady came down at our home again so we could sign the contract. We decided to get the grout so we ended up with $5,100. We paid the 10% ($510), signed the contract and wait for the scheduled date to work on it. She scheduled us for June 8-9. She told us that the contractors are supped to call us on the 7th to confirm. The day came, I couldn't leave the house because I was waiting for the call. Noontime came, I texted my husband and said that I never received the call. He followed up with with the lady and he found out that our order got misplaced that's why I never got the call. So the lady straightened it out for us, she confirmed that our schedule will be June 9 and 10th, I thought great, they are ruining my birthday!
Came June 9th, we went to the house early because they said they will show up as early as 8 am. A couple of hours of waiting have passed and nobody came, I texted my husband to follow up again. I also texted the lady and she told me that the contractors are on its way. I waited patiently, they came around 11 am. Upon introducing themselves, he presented me with a bill of $90 and I told him that everything is settled and that we don't owe them anything. He had to call his boss because they were instructed to collect it first before starting. Again, I told him we don't awe them anything. He called his boss and found out I was right.
So after all that, it is 12 noon already and they started unloading the materials. They thought that they were ju0st laying the tiles without stripping off the old floors so I showed them the contract that stated that they have to removed the old floors. So they started to removed the flooring at the family room, when they reach to the kitchen, the linoleum there is a little harder to strip so they suggested to just lay the tiles on top of it. I told them that I have to ask my husband. I asked him to talk to to my husband which he did but by the time all that is going on, it is already 1 pm and they were ready to leave. The guy told me that he is a single parent that he had to take his daughter to an orthodontist. There's nothing I can do but to say okay. They said that they are coming back early the next day. I asked them to put some of the materials inside because I was concern that it might get stolen outside. They brought the tiles and adhesive inside and left the grout and wall board outside. My husband had a hunch that they are not planning to come back and he was right.
On June 10th, we went early to the house to wait for them. It was my birthday and we cancelled our plans for that day since we wanted ou0r floors to get done. As we waited, the contractor called and said that they won't be able to come back because his partner's had a family emergency. So we called the Installation manager and he told us that he will call back but he never did. My husband then called the customer service but nobody answered. We waited until 12 hoping that the manager sent someone but nothing. By this time, we are so frustrated already. I texted the sales agent and let her know how disappointed I was of the situation and she couldn't believe what I was saying because she said that mostly, she get praises for the installation. She then communicated with the installation manager who never got back to us and she was informed that it would be re-scheduled the next week.
Normally, before we make a big purchase, my husband would read reviews first before making a decision. I think, he was so beat with the project that we did (refinishing wood floors) that he jumped on the wagon to just let Empire Today do the job without reading any reviews. June 12, Sunday, my husband decided to investigate. That's when we discovered that a lot of customers have the same problems as us. I was already feeling so dismayed at this time but my husband said that we will give them another chance to redeem themselves.
By Monday, the installation manager finally called us and said that we are re-scheduled on June 15-16. We went to the house yesterday and was glad that at 9 am, they arrived and there's 4 of them. I thought, great, they might be able to knock this out today. To my disappointment once again, they walked around the house and told me that they were told that the floor is already ready that the only thing they need to do is lay the tiles on the floor so they did not bring their tools. That excuse did not make sense to me because what contractor goes on the job with them? Right off the bat, I knew they didn't want to do the job. They left after ten minutes and told me that they are coming back the next morning bright and early, again I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
We went to the house this morning, waited till 10 am and I was already aggravated that no one showed up. So I let my husband know, he called the installation manager but he did not answer. He then called the customer service and he was told that they thought that the contractor got done working at our home yesterday. My husband stopped being Mr. Nice Guy and let them know how disappointed we are that we just want to cancel the whole thing. I also texted the sales agent and let her know that I am done dealing with this crappy transaction. She then communicated with the installation manager and was told that the contractor is on its way. I waited till noon and nobody showed up so I texted her that I don't think somebody is coming. I told her that I wish the installation manager would call us back and communicate with us. By this time, I was livid already. I said we will just cancel. She called me and apologize an said that she is still waiting for the manager to call her back and let her know what they plan to do.
The manager finally called my husband and asked for another chance. He told my husband that he is going to send a team to finish it tomorrow. We will see, if not, cancellation is the best option for us. We can just do it ourselves. Maybe save us some money in doing so. Empire Today sucks big time! I don't recommend this company. They have poor communication, poor customer service, and caused us major delay on our schedule!