So I head off to the local store for the bi-weekly trek for milk and bananas only to be attacked to purchase some Girl Scout cookies. Three things come to mind….
A) Only in America do Brownies sell Cookies
Ironic I know – It sounds like a form of food slavery. Cannibalism & human trafficking come to mind
B) Why is it the kids don’t really do the attacking I mean selling?
Let’s be real a moment. Selling Girl Scout cookies has become like kids doing their own science projects. The parents do all the work and the kids get the credit.
We are such a competitive society we have forgotten the dual purpose of the event. Raise money for the troops, but to also teach selling skills & increase confidence for our girls. Now it is about raising the most money, making their kids look the best (visions of moms and tiaras). It is more about what the parent can do vs the child.
Think about it, who is selling the cookies at your place of work? The parents.
When I pulled up to the store, I think there were 3 – 4 adults for each kid. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
The kids were talking off to the side, while the parents sat around the table attacking the folks that walked inside.
C) Isn’t this a form of harassment?
Why must they block the entrance to both door ways? Personally I think they have figured out that if we spot them, we will dash around the cars quickly, hop the speed bump and dive for the door that is not manned. Why not hedge their bets and block both? Darn them! They have figured us out.
Why attack on the way in? Now a person has to get 2 carts. One for the 15 boxes of cookies they were guilted into and one for the groceries they plan to buy. Now they must sheepishly look at the cashier to explain they aren’t trying to steal anything, it really is a box of Thin Mints from outside.
And don’t try and make me feel guilty when I don’t buy any. It’s not going to work. It’s not like they are raising money to feed the hungry. Although, if they had a blind, will work for food, starving banjo playing girl scout out there, I might feel a tinge of guilt when I try and sneak pass by hiding on the other side of the person pushing a cart.
Well, you get the point. This time of year is hazardous for us. Just when we thought were safe from the bell ringing Santas out come the little squirts of multi-badges.
So before you get out of your car, scope out the entrances and plan out your escape route. Otherwise you just might find yourself the proud owner of 50 boxes of Tagalongs – Peanut Butter Patties.
~~~till we laugh again~~~
There are some aggressive Girl Scout cookie sellers in my neck of the woods too, but unlike in your story, the Girl Scouts are the ones actually doing the selling.
It makes more sense to have the kids do it A) no one wants to turn down a little kid and B) the skills it gives them is awesome
yea!you tell em
LOL
The worst part is if you get attacked at the first store and suckered into buying. Then when you get to the second store and tell them you’ve already bought today, they think you are lying!! I hate when that happens!
Oh you are so right. Feels like we have a scarlet L on us for Liar! LOL That is how they look at us.
Love this! My 7 year old granddaughter sold over 400 boxes… did the work herself! My daughter supervised, but she did the selling. I twice saw mom’s at GSC tables in front of the grocery store and no kids around. It moots the whole point of why the girls are suppose to be selling the cookies.
Thanks for a fun post!
Your granddaughter is a rock star! When kids go after it like this, you just know they will be successful. To me, that is one of the best skills we can give these young ladies. Especially since they learn the art of rejection and never give up.
Reblogged this on New York City – M1 Marketing and Promotion and commented:
Good one.
thanks
I’m paraphrasing Dwight from The Office when asked to buy Girl Scout cookies…”I don’t know how I feel about giving girls self-confidence and leadership skills.”
I loved Girl Scouts and my parents made me do most of the selling myself. I think it kind of defeats the purpose if the parents do all of the work…Though some may argue that the only purpose is money.
That is a good line. Afraid of creating an army of powerful women. LOL I”m cool with parents doing it side by side to offer support to grow confidence but when the kid is out of the process it really is about the money.
yes the attack has begun, my route is, i dont carry cash, i do buy from the office my bosses child. i cant not have those little flowers. thank god they dont have visa on the table or the sucker in me would buy.
yea, a visa machine would take away our no money excuse. But I bet some ingenious kid will have one on her iphone soon. LOL
I’m giggling! Back in MY day (boy, I sound old) we weren’t allowed the easy out of letting parents do the work–that was part of the POINT of the whole thing. (We also didn’t get grocery-store booths, hmmm.) So I have some dreadful memories of trudging through my entire hometown knocking on doors… Frankly, I hated it–but then, when our troop took a trip paid for with cookie-money, we knew we’d EARNED that sucker. 😉 I’m a “snob” about it now–if a GIRL approaches me, I’ll buy a box even if I have a cupboard-full. But a parent? nope. Love the picture! 🙂
See. How tortured you were. Now they get to sit back and watch momma do it. Lol. Ok, not all. But seems like most. I can hear it now… My momma can out sell your momma! Lol
And if not… Girl Scouts can still build fires, LOL 😉
Yep, great skills often needed on Survivor. If you don’t believe me, what every season as people spend days trying to build one. 😀
The kids don’t do anything anymore. They will some day have a rude awakening. Until then, I’ll just take two boxes…
Lol. Sorry still laughing at last sentence . They are Definatly learning the hard way as they enter the workforce.
Love it…can relate to this so much..What about the Boy Scouts who come to your door to sell you an apple and hope you’ll give them $5 and then hopefully tell them they can keep the apple…to sell to the next (victim)…I mean person….We do let them do this because we think we are keeping these lads from becoming future hoodlums… okay I love boy scouts ..my kids were boy scouts….Diane
I’ve never heard of that! See, now you i’ll know what to do vs telling them to see the teacher down the road. LOL. But seriously, I really didn’t know that. I’d be too worried they weren’t real boy scouts 😀
Maybe they don’t do that where you live..we’re in Ontario Canada and it’s a common practice. They also collect empty beer and liquor bottles so they can get the refund….and of course get driven around by adults…don’t collect them by themselves with say…a wagon lol Diane 🙂
Now I’m just picturing drunk boy scouts walking down the streets with their liquor bottles. Lol
Never thought about the dregs left in the bottles….that is now my vision also…funny …Diane
I had two troops with my two daughters being almost four years apart in age and back then, the parents were not allowed to sell, just the girls with the incentive being a free week to camp if they met the goal and a slew of badges to go with it…I hate to tell you what my spare room looked like on delivery day lol…these girls loved camp and the jamboree and were not the gang on you crew they left that for the cheerleaders at the doors of the stores collecting money and went for the center of the building where people came to them lol…worked much better…they also made a picnic lunch and shared with the crowd if they bought cookies and they with supervision sold hotdogs and hamburgers with the parents busy at the grill…something dads could do while moms were serving food…
Funny thought…what ever happened to the brownie learning to do it herself…is that why girl scouts of today might not be as strong as they could have been too much Velcro in their sneakers?
The girl scouts are such an awesome way to develop our little girls into strong women, I love it when they are running with it, but it kills me when the mom’s do it. They miss the whole point.
Your room full of cookies made me laugh. Someone just dropped off in our food bank box a ton of these.. LOL
Reblogged this on My Blog and commented:
This is funny cause my hubby had to add another pic with it…
Perhaps they should expand into auto insurance, home repairs and some religion. Thanks visit my blog.
lol
If this happens (blocking doors, adults selling verses girls when door to door or at the table) then please report it to the local council. This is not what is suppose to happen and there is no way the council can do anything about it if they don’t know. It is volunteer ran so by bringing light to it through the proper channels things can change and the girls can get the lessons on being leaders and becoming girls with confidence, courage and character, making the world a better place – which is what it is all about after all.
That is a good point. Especially when it is so important that these young ladies learn..After all, the point is to help them become strong women. thanks for sharing your thoughts..