DO NOT use Wall Empire. Marc, the owner, was great at first--we got a great price on a temporary wall.
However, day of the wall installation I get a call at 9:30 AM (the wall was supposed to be installed at 10:30 AM) that there is a problem with getting the truck out because of snow and that they are running at least an hour late. Fine, things happen, no big deal (but it seems strange, because other trucks are driving around the city just fine...) The woman I spoke to was very nice and seemed to want to be accommodating.
I ask for an update about an hour later and I get a call that the truck broke down on the way back from a removal earlier that morning. I'm told that the plan is that they will wait to see if a mechanic can fix it, and if he can't in 2 to 2 1/2 hours, they'll try to come up with a new solution. When I ask if they can rent a truck, since it's now 11:30 AM and they were supposed to be at my apartment an hour ago, the woman I speak to calls Marc the owner to ask.
When she calls back, she tells me that they don't want to rent a truck because if they do that, they'll be losing money on the job. Renting a truck, she says, is a last resort, but even if they do rent a truck after the 2 1/2 hours, they still need to put my materials onto another truck, which she estimates would mean that they would be able to get to me an hour after renting the truck. So at this point, my wall is going to be assembled at 3pm at the earliest.
They offer to give me a $50 discount when I ask for one since I'll be waiting around for them for 5 hours. While I understand that the truck broke down and that's going to reduce their bottom line, it's not my fault and I shouldn't be the one to deal with it. I arranged my day based on the agreed-upon time, I couldn't finish moving in until they built the wall, and I only had the elevator available for them to move their materials for a certain amount of time. They should have rented a truck--that's the cost of doing business and showing up when you say you're going to show up.
But because I can't just call any other company (you have to submit insurance papers to the property manager beforehand) I ask her to call me after they hear word from the mechanic. Plus, I've already gotten a bank certified check for Wall Empire, so I just can't write a new one for someone else. I'll have no way to pay, unless they'll take a credit card.
2 hours rolls around, no word. 2 1/2 hours later rolls around, still no word. I call. No answer. 3 hours later rolls around, still no word. I call again. No answer.
I call after 4 hours, STILL NO ANSWER. I realize now that they're just ignoring my calls, and they're not coming. They probably figure that the job is not worth their time (and apparently neither am I) so they just don't show up.
Serendipitously, earlier that morning another company was building walls in my building (they're cleared for work in the building so no papers needed) and they ended up able to build my wall as soon as I called, for $50 more, and they were able to take my credit card. The better price from Marc was not nearly worth the hassle Wall Empire caused.
I even called Marc to give them the courtesy of canceling the job. I left a message and sent a text, but there was never any response.
He might do a good job when all goes exactly as planned, but do not count on any customer service. Do not count on them to show up at all, actually. read more