EMPIRE TODAY - CARPETING

Here's why I think EMPIRE TODAY is the biggest scam of a business that I've seen in a very long time, and why I'd like to see someone investigate their goings-on.

This morning I phoned to get an in-home estimate from "Empire Today", and they sent a guy over this afternoon. He gave his name only as "Ken". He took a measurement of the area in my small family room to be recarpeted . . . a mere 13' x 13', or 18.77 square yards. Then he showed me four samples from which I was to choose. I selected the mid-price carpeting, and here's what he quoted me:

His jotted some figures in his notebook, then announced the first price of $2,700. Yes, you read that right . . . two thousand seven hundred dollars for less than 19 (that's NINETEEN) square yards of installed carpeting! When I laughed at that price, he went back to his notebook and somehow refigured a second price, and proceeded to quote me a "sale price" of $l,410. When I told him that this was still OUTRAGEOUS for a mere 19 square yards of carpeting, he again went back to his notebook, asked me how I planned to pay for the carpeting, and when I said I would put it on my credit card and that I wouldn't need to finance it, he then reduced the price a third time to $975 . . . but ONLY if I purchased it right then and there, and if I didn't finance it.

On top of this, I asked him for a copy of his quote - a written estimate - and he refused to give it to me. The $1,410 quote was supposedly good for thirty days, but Lord knows how that would ever be validated since he flatly refused to provide me with a written estimate. He said that he wasn't a "measuring service" and he wasn't about to give me the dimensions of my room that he had calculated. I reminded him that this was my house and I know the dimensions of my own family room and was able to calculate the square footage without his help. A reputable company would provide a prospective client with a written estimate, but not Empire Today. Obviously he didn't want me to see how he calculated these ridiculous quotes.

I wished him a good day, and sent him on his way with his samples. Before I would ever buy carpeting from this sham of a company I would live with dirt floors in my home.

It disturbs me to consider how many foreigners in our city, uneducated people, or Senior Citizens are bilked yearly by this company. If ever there were a company that should be investigated by either the Attorney General's office or by a TV investigative reporter, it is Empire Today.

Comment On This

This is exactly right. I have considered going to problem solvers on local television station here in washington. I knew one of their so called independent contractors, which are really their sales reps, ie, employee, who was devastated with how the conduct business in several locations. I believe that no one has investigated them, well not until recentely that is. As far as how they scam on the consumer with their so called variety of flexiable financing, and again this comes from the mouth from someone who used to work for them.

When the sales rep goes into the customers home and does a quote they can never go back and change that quote, The rep is to quote the highest amount possible based upon their evaluation of the consumer, this is the only way for the rep to make any money on the job. First they measure the area to be covered. They are to show the sale priced items which are the cheapest of all the materials that empire carries, they have the customer decide on a product, the rep asks how they are going to pay for it, because at that point they have to add in the finance charges that will be billed by which ever finance company that decides to approve the applicaition submitted by the customer. The total of finance charges are never known to the rep because they never tell them, what they are told is the it could be anywhere from 3% all the way to 10% of the total invoice amount. Those charges have to be added in along with the labor charges for installing the carpet. Now keep in mind that this is a sales rep, not a carpet installer, or laminate flooring installer or a window covering installer, it is a sales rep, how are they supposed to know all the hidden fees that are associated with installation? WELL guess what it doesn't really matter to empire because no matter what they are getting thier money. If the rep does not add in enough to cover the installation charges or the finance charges guess who eats those charges? That's right, the sales rep. Empire demands that every rep sell every appointment, if not than the rep has to call thier manager to give one last effort to make the sale from inside the home. If the rep does write the order, they also have to collect all the money for the whole order or just the deposit unless is comes back finance pending, then there is no deposit, they have already been in big trouble for that I am sure.

Anyway, the rep collects all the money writes up all the appropriate paperwork has the customer sign and then leaves and then turns in all of the paperwork to home office. If they were truly independent contractors they should be billing empire today for their time and gas. but that is not how it goes, once they turn in all the paperwork, they think they will get paid for the job within a week or so depending on the install date, however, empire takes their share of the price for materials, they take the base installation charges, they take the sales tax, and then they take the finance charge out whatever that may be. After all is said and done the rep then gets either 3% - 5% - 8% or 10% depending on what they sold it for. They only get a percetage of what is left over after empire takes out all of the miscellaneous charges. The rep that I know brought home checks that came to $35.00 for a week, and empire does not pay for gas or travel. They do this to all of their reps, now it is very clear why they can soak so much money into advertising, because they rip off the people who are out there working thier butts off just to get ripped off. They are fully aware of wwhat they are doing and all the people they are stealing from, namely the IRS,

labor & industries, Unemployement, and all the innocent people that do not know any better, because they lack the knowledge of the contractor laws. Someone needs to step up and finally make this company liable for their poor bbusiness practice. Make them pay up to all the people they have taken an advantage of. Because it is just wrong.