One year later, just past the Empire warranty, the ‘high end’ carpet I purchased is rippling horribly and the hardwoods floors which were glued to a slab are popping. Empire informed me that I would have to pay to have it fixed because it is outside of their one year warranty.

With Home Depot, I never had a quality problem after installs…even after three years.

I’ll never use Empire flooring again. I’ve called them to them know, but obviously, they don’t care.

$199 install is basic install only - installing carpet and padding, it does NOT include tearing up old carpet and hauling it away. If you need that done, you pay the $6.44 sq yd install AND $3.06 sq yd tear up AND $1.89 sq yd haul away. For me…this was $199 vs 989. Did they misquote me? Huge difference from what you are saying. That also does not include moving furniture.

Ive risen through the ranks from installer to commercial estimator/ specifier and have 35yrs experience. Ive seen great stores and poor stores, both big box and small independent. It is not about the store name. Essentially everyone is selling the same or similar products. It is about the individual people selling and installing your floors. Ask around about your local floor-covering vendors . Ask your friends if they know anyone in the business. Ask for references and “actually call them”.

If you are flying (buying) blind. Most of the information you need is on the back of the sample. There is also plenty of info on the web about selecting the right flooring for your needs. Eg. a 7+ year wear warranty, a texture retention warranty, and an “active wear” or “3.0+” wear rating are usually signs of a good carpet for most situations.

A good flooring experience can vary not only from store to store, but from salesperson to salesperson and installer to installer.

Flooring is an expensive purchase. Do a little home work before going into the store .

Ed

I’ve worked for HD for a little more than 4 years now in the flooring dept. I need to clear up some of the criticisms on here.

First, we charge $199 for install ($99 through special promotions occasionally). This includes installing the carpet and pad, removing and disposing of your old carpet and pad, and replacing damaged tack strips as needed. What it does not include is moving furniture, tack stripping a whole room with no previous tack strips, or removing flooring other than carpet. All of the things I listed as not included are available at an extra charge, but most installs I deal with do not need them anyway (besides furniture moving, but customers are usually willing to do that themselves, otherwise it is about $0.20/square foot I believe). There is a $50 deposit that is required for a measure (although there are promotions to waive that now and again) that gets applied to your install price if you decide to have HD install. If you decide not to have HD install AFTER being measured, you lost the deposit.

Second, our carpet prices ARE the best available. We do not increase the price of our carpet to make up for the low install price. To Evan, using a carpet that is $45/sq yd as an example is ridiculous. We don’t carry more than one or two carpets even priced that high. You can get a 75oz solution dyed nylon for about $28-$38/sq yd., or for a lower price/quality a polyester for about $20/sq yd. Of course HD carries a lot of other carpets inbetween, both poor quality for the price and great quality for the price, but I and all my fellow salespeople always let the customer know if the carpet they are looking at is a good deal or not.

Third, the price comparison thing everyone seems to be mentioning is confusing to me. At HD the way it works is that if you find a carpet that is similar in quality (+- 5oz face weight, same fiber type-nylon, polyester,olefin, etc) but cheaper than one we carry at the same quality, we WILL beat the price by 10%. I have had this happen only a few times as, like I said, not many are cheaper than us, and it has not been a big deal at all. I call the manager for approval, and that’s it. We do not pay attention to the name of the carpet brand, because, as we always inform our customer’s of this and has been stated numerous times above, everyone carries pretty much the same carpet under their own brand. To testify to the straightforward approach Mike mentions, I had a customer come in about a week ago. She was debating between HD and Carpet One (considered a “small guy” in our town of 50,000 with a Lowe’s and HD to compete with). I gave her the price on a carpet she chose after going over all facets of carpet quality and type with her, and the price was around $3400 out the door. I asked her what Carpet One quoted her, and she said around $3000. So, wanting to find the best deal for her, I requested that she bring in a written quote and sample of the carpet from Carpet One. When she came in the next day, I found that she was indeed quoted $3000, but this price was after a huge discount given over the stickered price on the carpet she brought in. The original quote, she eventually admitted, was $4400 from Carpet One. However, since they assured her that her out the door price for the carpet she had brought in to me was $3000, I let her know that she was getting the best deal by going with Carpet One, and I let the sale go. Before leaving, she thanked me greatly for my help, and said that I was MUCH more helpful and knowledgeable than the Carpet One salesperson. Then the customer left. This may seem like a dumb thing for a salesperson to let happen, but next time that customer goes shopping for flooring (or blinds, as that is my dept as well), where do you think she will come first?

Fourth, our installers. My district and a number of surrounding districts use a single installer. It is a subcontracted company based out of Fresno, CA that is licensed and bonded with our company. We DO back their work 100%, and I have seen a few instances at my store where we have sent our installers back out to fix seams or transitions, etc. I have only had a few complaints about our installers, and overall I receive positive feedback. I even have customers come in with photos after their install to show me how great their flooring came out.

I will conclude this long defense of HD with a personal thought. I am not a carpet installer, but HD trains their salespeople very well. It depends on the individual salesperson whether or not they will take their job seriously and genuinely care about customers. There are a few people I work with (and I know other HDs also have this problem) that just don’t care about anything, so our customers receive horrible customer service. Many of you will have a bad experience at HD, many will have a good experience at HD. My advice to you is just pay attention to the person selling you the flooring. If you go to HD and the person/store seems lacking and disorganized (and yes I admit there are HDs out there like this) then go somewhere else. Do your own research for carpet based on fiber type, face weight, density, and twist, among other things, and get a specific idea of what you want before you walk into any dealer.

I am not a fanboy of HD, as I am just working there part time to put myself through college. However, I am seeing a lot of inaccurate information and unfair criticism of HD that needs to be defended against. None of my statements are biased-my purpose is not to sell you on Home Depot, but just to inform you of your options. As previously said, HD is not always the best choice, but do not shut it out based on a few people’s bad experiences. Judge each store and each salesperson individually and without bias, and you will be happy with your flooring job.

p.s., HD associates do not work on commission, so you do not have to worry so much about being upsold on your choice. HD makes about the same amount of profit on the cheap carpet as the expensive carpets (sometimes more on the cheap carpets actually!)-believe me, I’ve checked cost vs retail on almost every type of flooring we carry.

If you want to locate a certified installer, go to http://www.cfi-installers.org. They are a nationwide certification organization. But regardless of who you have install, check their references first.

And previous posters are correct. All flooring companies have access to the same styles. If you just simply do your research (internet is the easiest method), you’ll find the best price/quality relationship, and come out a satisfied customer.

Mike M

A word about Empire. I read in a trade mag that Empire had the highest profit margin in the flooring industry. So, if you are a great wheeler dealer go for the NEXT DAY pitch, if not, you are one of the many giving them record profit margins. The reason they pitch next day is so you are rushed into a sale with very little time to think it through. Who really needs carpet in one day? Surgery yes ! Carpet, give me a day or two to think about it.

HD may seem cheaper but if the cheaper labor they use is worth the time and effort to have it replaced GO FOR IT. I don’t like to fight with large companies that have no owners and lots of form letters saying “Your concern is not covered”

I may be old but I have seen the industry change and not for the best. Faster and Cheaper doesn’t always mean better. This formula works with computers not flooring.

Sam