Waukesha County Home

HOME SEPTEMBER 2018 2 Distributed by: ©2018 by Conley Media Waukesha County Home is published monthly by Conley Media - Waukesha County, 801 N. Barstow St., Waukesha, WI 53186. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. A publication of Conley Media Sales Director: Jim Baumgart 262/513-2621 jbaumgart@conleynet.com Editor: Dan Muckelbauer 262/513-2626 dmuck@conleynet.com Production: Patricia Scheel 262/513-2690 pscheel@conleynet.com Home Volume 7 ■ Number 9 ■ September 2018 14780 W. Greenfield Ave., Brookfield. Now in its sixth generation, Simon's has been growing produce for more than 150 years. "They (pansies) are really super tough. Use them to replace fading summer blooms," Simon said. Sunflowers, early goldenrods, sweet black-eyed Susans, New England asters, white snake rods and prairie dock — a favorite of goldfinches, who hang on the plant and eat the insects it attracts — begin to bloom at the end of August. "We're right on that two-week period where things start to switch from summer to fall," McRae said. The Wehr Nature Center director added that flowering kale is also an attractive plant to have in a fall garden. "It makes a pretty rosette in purples and pinks," she said. Dried corn stalks, broom corn and sorghum also add seasonal fall touches to a garden. Although many people think of pump- kins as being orange, the vegetables actual- ly come in a multitude of colors, including green, blue, tan, and red, said Simon. Beck advises people to shop for decora- tive plants "early and often." He noted that Minor's also carries pump- kins, gourds, corn stalks, coral bells (plants with silvery stalks and red and chartreuse blooms) and near-black and orange pansies "for Halloween." The garden center also offers decorative leaf garlands, pumpkin-shaped light strings, plastic flowers, and colorful metal animals, including moose, horses and birds. "We have a wide variety of decorations to augment your planters," Beck said. "There's something for everyone, depend- ing on how much effort you want to put in." Continued from Page 1 Fall: Décor ranges from 'super tough' pansies to blue pumpkins Henry Beck Garden centers such as Minor's in Milwaukee offer a variety of fall décor, such as scarecrows, corn stalks and leaf garlands. By Tim O'Brien A September 2011 Business Week article reported on a Texas home improvement contractor that hired a writer to post 200 positive reviews on sites like Yelp and Google. The story went on to cite other examples and estimated the percentage of fake online reviews at close to 30 percent. Such articles have been multiplying, with a Google search for "can you trust online reviews?" returning over 62 million links. At the same time, though, multiple studies indicate that online reviews are still trusted by most Americans — about two-thirds of them, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center study. Fake reviews are blatantly unethical, but it's not surprising why some businesses post them. Positive reviews bring more cus- tomer inquiries than anything else because they offer busy people an easy decision- making shortcut. The question is how best to use that short- cut. The answer, we believe, is to give reviews a weight that varies inversely with the purchase value. It's one thing to buy — or not buy — a $49 toaster or even a $300 travel bag because of Amazon ratings. On the other hand, is it wise to choose or reject a contractor for a half-million-dollar house based on anonymous Internet comments? Unfortunately, that's often what happens. We know of one professional builder who asked every potential customer calling for the first time what information sources they had consulted. Fewer than 10 percent of them had even gone to the builder's web- site and of those who had, most never looked past the project photos. All of them, however, had checked out the most popular review sites. We also know builders who received neg- ative reviews from people they had never done business with. That raises a question: How many people never call a builder who would be perfect for them because of a false or exaggerated negative review? We'll never know. We'll also never know how many of those people ultimately found a company who offered the quality and level of service they needed. Don't get us wrong — review sites can be useful selection tools. They empower buy- ers, and they reward great builders for doing their best work. But given the ease of gaming the system, it's wise to take them with the proverbial grain of salt. So what's the best way to use contractor reviews? When it comes to finding a builder for your dream home, review sites should be just one tool in the selection toolbox. You should also spend time reading through the company's website, paying particular atten- tion to any pages that describe its business process. Then use that information to arm yourself with probing questions for the builder and the builder's references. This takes more time than simply scroll- ing through Yelp, but due diligence pays handsome rewards. A new home is one of the most important financial and lifestyle decisions most people will ever make, so you want to do everything possible to iden- tify a builder that's a perfect fit for you and your project. (Tim O'Brien is president of Tim O'Brien Homes.) Go beyond online contractor reviews when making your biggest purchase Trust? Maybe. Verify? Definitely Sensenbrenner receives NAHB Defender of Housing Award WAUKESHA — The Metropol- itan Builders Association recently awarded U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner with the Nation- al Association of Home Builders Defender of Housing Award. He received the award for demonstrating strong support for housing and NAHB positions on key issues facing home builders, remodelers and home owners. "We couldn't be more pleased to present Congressman Sensen- brenner with the Defender of Housing Award," MBA Execu- tive Director Kathy Raab said. "We are grateful to the strong support and voice he provides for the home building industry."

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