I buy candy bars from kids who actually lug the boxes to the door by themselves. They've got better things to be doing -- like having fun being a kid and stuff like that.

And I rarely eat the candy, I usually give them away or buy one for the kid selling them. It's just every now and then and I don't mind the buck.

But mom or dad shilling for the kids? No thanks, not unless I actually want what you are selling -- and that's rare.

They fit nice in the freezer though.

"Selling cookies allows them to interact with the public and raise money for worthwhile causes"

Not if those little punks are foisting sales duties off onto their parents.

/grumble

Unavailable for comment:




And thus, ordered my case of thin mints!
- - - George, The 7th Chicken!!!!

bmihura:

Ooh, thanks.

2005-01-26 04:19:22 AM Mitch Mitchell

They fit nice in the freezer though.

--------------------------
Girlscouts? or the cookies?

mythy,

Are the boxes getting smaller every year or is it just me?

The boxes are not getting smaller, but your ass IS getting bigger.

Stop eating so many cookies

I'm against peddling girl scout cookies. In fact, I'm against child prostitution of any kind.

/hey, what?
//yes, I remember hearing that one the first time, and thinking it very clever. Christ, that was along time ago.

Girl scout cookies is a gigantic shakedown for the National Council. The spiel is that it's to help the girls buy things for their local troops, but the real fact is that less than 10 percent of the proceeds go to local troops, and the vast majority of the $$ goes to pay the huge salaries and posh offices of National Council. Upper-level execs at NC are making $200,000+ salaries for sitting on their butts, and meanwhile the girls' families are gouged to pay for uniforms, supplies, excursions, etc. And, of course, the parents are pressured into being volunteer troop leaders. Too bad they took a great organization and turned it into a ca$h cow for a few greedy people.

Oddly enough, this article is frighteningly true.

BOTH of my boss's daughters are selling GS cookies. Of course I didn't know this, I just saw the one invoice sheet, so I write down my order. An hour later - I kid you not- boss #2 is like "Kayla is selling cookies too, you know..."

And I now have a freezer full of cookies.

(nice Samoans reference, by the way Alchemist.)

Those of you who are whining about seeing the kids selling things are the same ones who biatched and moaned when I got a bike for selling the most candy.

And no, it wasn't caseloads to my dad's work--they forbade that sort of thing.

No. There is a world of difference between a kid selling candy or whatever for their school or organization, door to door or outside of a store -- and family forcing it on you and harassing you AT YOUR PLACE OF BUSINESS.

When I was a kid, I always sold more than other kids. And do you want to know my secret? I would get a card table and lay the candy out on it, with the price written on cardboard. Then I'd draw a big thermometer on a brightly colored piece of cardboard and lean it against the leg of the cardboard. I'd update it every so often, to show how close I was to my goal.

I never harassed anyone. I never asked anyone to buy anything. I never followed someone into the store or asked them again on their way out. I never begged. I never sent family members to work with boxes to sell. I sat, quietly reading, at the card table every possible hour after school and on the weekends for a solid two weeks each year.

And people would come up to me and OFFER to buy candy. Often in huge quantities. You'd be surprised how well it works if you are not inrusive and annoying. Yes, THEY will flock to YOU.

Of course, I'm not a fan of sending kids out to raise money for anything by selling crap. Kids should be in school learning, not out pimping candy or trinkets to fund new band equipment (while the football team is fully funded). I always buy something from kids who are selling candy - but ONLY because... well, god damn it... it's hard not to fall for the "aw, that's cute" bullshiat. I dont' support it. I can't stand it. But it isn't the kids' fault. I won't buy your shiat if your mom pimps it in my office cubicle. But I'll buy it if you take initiative and come to my door or ask me at store. Your school make be full of asshole administrators putting you up to this, but that isn't your fault.


And while we're at it, I have a nice story from when I was a kid. I was in first grade, selling candy for my private Christian school (Yeah, I know! ME in a Christian school! Hard to believe!). I stood outside of a mall for hours and hours, selling candy bars.

After awhile, this really drunk-smelling, grungy, skanky, dirty, sweaty, gross looking bum walked up to me and gave me some change. It was like 21 cents, if that.

I thought he was trying to buy a candy bar and I couldn't understand his mumbling. I was like "No, they're a dollar...".

After a few moments, my mom yelled over to me from where she was observing and said "he's trying to give you the money".

Maybe it was dumb. I don't know. But I have always looked back on that my entire life and thought that it was a wonderful gesture. This guy whos life was probably worse than I could ever imagine, was clearly homeless, drunk and had nothing going for him - including no money... gave some stupid little kid his last few cents to help with his school fundraiser - and asked nothing in return and just went away after the money was accepted.

That event has always stuck in my mind when I pass a homeless person on the street. Stupid or not, I always help someone out if they ask for it. Even if it's just taking them into a McDonald's and getting them a coffee and a sausage biscuit. Maybe it's Karma. I don't know. I just know that it was a greater gesture than anyone with any amount of money and resources in the last 20 years of my life has ever made.

monkeybiatch

I meant that the boxes of cookies would fit nicely into the freezer top.

Girl scout cookies are the biggest scam of all time. And the security they place on those cookies you would think they are drugs. My friend worked for a moving company and they moved the cookes every year to a local warehouse before distribution. The rules were if even one box, one COOKIE was missing everyone was fired and charged with theft....

I know where they keep them.... Woo hahahHAHAHAHAHAHHahaha

The rules were if even one box, one COOKIE was missing everyone was fired and charged with theft....
Like thats legall, I would have accidently lost one just to see them try.

don't mess with the girl scout cookies... three guys ended up in a hole because they were selling bootleg thin mints

Cheapskates can't shell out $4 for a box of cookies? Assclowns.

Kebler thin mint clones are hell of a lot cheaper.

My only stress is not being able to stop before the whole sleeve of Thin Mints has been devoured, once it's been opened.

/okay, okay... the ones with the shortbread animals on one side and the fudge on the other side too.

there's a local grocery store here where you bag your own groceries and every once in a while a local church youth group will be there at the end of each checkout bagging your groceries and expecting a donation to raise money for some trip or something. They don't even ask if you want them bagged. I don't support that stuff so I got dirty looks when i insisted on bagging my own. I thought i was doing the right thing, since i wasn't going to give them any money anyway.

I bow to the pressure. *hangs head* So far, from my office, with never having seen a child (thank god, I think it's kinda bad to teach little kids to approach strangers anyway), I have purchased 6 boxes of cookies, 4 candles, and various candy bars and popcorn balls. Most of these are given away, but I do not want to know how much I've spent to be a "team player"...

I know somebody who worked in the girl scout cookie factory, btw the way they do it is to get groups (in this case the band parents/students) to work as a group for a fundraiser (read: work for slave wages to go to your band/whatever). They had a big box where all the broken cookies went. If anybody tried to eat or take home any of the broken ones, they were all fired on the spot. arseholes.

I still bought a couple boxes from the girl scouts who came to my door.

What a bunch of pussies we've become in this country. STRESS! From a Girl Scout cookie???? WTF.

Yah. I've always had a problem with the parents doing all the selling. If it's all about teaching the scouts about responsibility, enterprise, etc. then, at least, bring her up to the office and have her ask me. I promise, if this ever happens, I'll buy a half a dozen boxes. If not, then no thanks. I'll just munch on all the extra boxes other employees buy but never intend to eat.

What ever happened to "No thanks, not interested" and a pissed off look if they persist?

Has worked for years...

If little Betty gets her ass up and comes to knock on my door to sell me cookies, I'll buy a box. Don't bother having mommy and daddy try to push them on me though.

Mythy: Are the boxes getting smaller every year or is it just me?


They're, like, nine years old, you sick fark!!!

Parvin!!!! Stop!!!!!

That caused me to pee just a little.....cripes, that was funny.....

I was a girl scout which was pretty lame. If it wasn't for my parents hounding people at work I probably wouldn't have sold very many cookies. But really, what's the point? The prizes are crappy anyway. I bought 3 boxes last year and never even ate most of the cookies, what a waste of money.

parvin:

2005-01-26 10:44:14 AM parvin

Mythy: Are the boxes getting smaller every year or is it just me?

They're, like, nine years old, you sick fark!!!


parvin wins!

We get that in our office, too. And it's not just ONE parent with a girl in Scouts. At my office we have at least four. Four people hounding you for cookies. I'm on a limited income as it is paying off my debts and have to follow a very strict (and expensive) diet anyway, so yes, that 16 bucks I COULD use towards my own personal wellbeing, thank you very much. If that makes me selfish, so be it. Meanwhile, I will donate to causes when my income allows, which I used to do when I could afford it.

But wait, there's more! Now that the Girl Scouts have had their due, here come MORE parents with MORE fundraising stuff for their schools! Once a month we have someone sending out emails about Little Timmy trying to raise money for band or a play or some other school-related circle jerk. And before ANYONE jumps on me about being cold, I did this, too. However, I went out and knocked on doors or would take my brochures to church. Yeah, that sucks, too, but I was doing my own work. My parents didn't take my work to their work. And I was one of the best salespersons in my school.

Still waiting for my adhesive medical strips that I won. Dammit, Poop Dog!

I always viewed the girl scout cookie thing as a scam. Some cookie company somewhere gets a sales force that they don't have to pay and they give like %0.5 of the proceeds back to the girl scouts.

Some charities have throw the guilt factor but my personal favorite is the college kid that comes by to sell magazines so he can go to Cancun during spring break. That is the easiest person to say no to.

The best is the mini-thugs on the subway. At first it was "I'm selling M&M's to support my basketball team/little league/juvenial detention center" then one kid got smart and told the truth "I'm selling these M&M's for myself, I can make more selling candy on the train than I can at some minimum wage burger joint and I need the cash." That was the first day I bought subway M&M's in years, now all the candy whores are using that speach so no more sales.

/at least one person in Iowa is wondering right now why the hell anyone would buy candy from a hoodlum on a subway car...

This reminds me of that Beavis and Butthed episode where They were selling candy bars for two dollars. They each had a dollar. So Beavis lent butthead his dollar and butthead bought a candy bar. Then Beavis got hungry and used that two dollars to buy a candy bar from Butt Head. Then Butthead used the same two dollars to buy another candy bar from Beavis, until they were all gone, and then they each had a dollar to show for it!

It was awesome!

The concept behind GS cookie sales is really wonderful in theory...the girls earn money for their troop - to buy uniforms, to help fund field trips, pay for badges, that sort of thing - and they learn valuable lessons in money management, people skills, and goal setting. But in practice, it's a joke. The girls do little, if any, of the work themselves - the parents and family members do all the 'pre-ordering' (before the cookies actually come in) and then once the cookies are delivered (which is a whole 'nother cluster-fark that I won't even go into) and once 'booth sales' start, it's the troop leader (or other poor soul who got roped into being the "cookie manager") standing out there in the cold with a table and a hundred cases of cookies.

Speaking of which, due to the fact that last year I was the aforementioned poor soul AND troop leader, there are currently still about 30 cases of GS cookies in my freezer. Seems that the girls in my troop couldn't be bothered to come out and do booth sales, so I got stuck with them. All $900 worth. So, if anyone's interested, I have all the different varieties, and they're still as fresh as the day they were delivered. I'll sell 'em to ya for $2 a box...I'd really like that freezer space back someday.

Any takers?

/GS troop leader
/only because no one else would do it

"We found termites in your neighboorhood BS" pest control companies

That would never work around here. Termites are so ubiquitous here that termite damage isn't covered by HOA contract or homeowner's insurance. If somebody came to our door and said they found termites in our neighborhood, we'd be like, "No shiat, sherlock."

I was a Girl Scout when I was a kid, and I can tell you with certainty that the cookies aren't as good as they used to be (back in the 80's). That you get fewer in a box for more money goes without saying.

The quality of a girl's experience in the Scouts depends almost entirely on the quality of the troop leader(s). I had some good times going camping and learning about wild animals and plants, and how to make a fire and cook over it, etc.

should have the 'obvious' tag

I sold cookies and for every 5 houses I visited, there was at least 1 person who told me they bought at the office or from their niece/random relative.

If you don't want them, turn them down. These girls are resilient and just move on.

You learn to deal with disappointment very early when you sell those cookies--not everyone wants them. If the office doesn't work, go somewhere else. It's nobody's fault, so everybody just moves on with their lives.

As far as the cookies go, I love the Samoas. Can't get enough of them, and look forward to them every year. I can't, however, face the screaming hordes of parents forcing sheets in my face. That's why about 10 years ago, I decided to become a cookie "whale." I will buy 10 boxes of cookies a year, but only from the one person who gets to me first. I like most of my cow-orkers and their childruns, but I'm not gonna be nickel-and-dimed into submission and then worry that someone hasn't delivered tha product.

Outside of cookies, here at work we have a squad of enforcers known as the Employee Activities Committee, which the chairwoman has enlisted as her personal fundraising squad. Right now, I'm sitting next to a grocery delivery bin filled with pepperoni and ham-and-cheese rolls, which is right next to a large cardboard box of candy bars. Both were dumped in this section of the office because it's near the front and no employee can avoid them. Did I mention today is payday?

Perhaps because they are selfish dweebs who previously never gave nuthin' to nobody, they assume that nobody else has, either. Now they've become obsessed with their demands for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, United Way, Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, school bands, math teams, debate teams, cheerleaders, cheerfollowers, whatever.

I'd like nothing more than to tell them that I anonymously sponsor one dog's upkeep at the local animal shelter. Because I quietly give $125 a month to a cause in which I truly believe, I sometimes come across as a cheapskate because the two pepperoni rolls at five bucks each just aren't in my budget.

Outside the Jewel-Osco (it's a grocery store)near here, some 45 year old guy had a big stop sign he was holding up that said "Stop girl scout cookies here" in the shape of a stop sign. I walked up to him and said "all right! I'm with you man! Girl scout cookies need to be stopped - they're a waste of money and an unnecessary hassle.

I turned around and saw two girl scouts sitting there with shocked expressions. The sign should have said "Stop, girl scout cookies here."

Punctuation is everything folks. Although I once was dating a troop leader... (insert obligatory "eating cookies" jokes here)

Some readers pound out an angry e-mail to remind me that selling Girl Scout cookies teaches young girls about responsibility, planning and confidence. Selling cookies allows them to interact with the public and raise money for worthwhile causes.

Not if their involvment amounts to "Here daddy, sell my cookies at the office."

parvin

Mythy: Are the boxes getting smaller every year or is it just me?

They're, like, nine years old, you sick fark!!!

Hilarious. Beat me to it.

Hated selling Girl Scout cookies (was in the scouts until 10th grade) because nobody ever bought from us. We'd be standing outside the Jewel-Osco store in my hometown and hardly anyone would stop and buy from us.

Maybe it was because we were 15 years old, much older than the cute little Brownie scouts. It was a frustrating experience and out of the $3 we sold each box for, we only got about $.03 back to our troop.

/only stuck in the scouts that long for the camping
//loves Samoa cookies
///if I ever have a daughter I wouldn't let her participate in Girl Scouts

I make it a point to never donate to groups that ask for money. If I have money to give I'll seek you out. For girlscout cookies I usually go up to them and initiate it. Oh and they are $3 a box, not $5. Samoas are the best. Bought 2 boxes of those and 1 thin mint. I didn't get my samoa fix last year. The group I bought them from was offering buy 6 get one free, my girlfriend had to stop me from buying 6 boxes.

Moran, apparently it was because there was a guy with a sign protesting your presence.

I actually dropped out of girl scouts because I wasn't into selling cookies, and that's all they seemed to do...oh, that and earn sewing patches while the boy scouts went whitewater rafting in Colorado.

saxchick
"earn sewing patches while the boy scouts went whitewater rafting in Colorado."
My feelings exactly :)

my gf was a girl guide (ranger or whatever you are when you are 17)

over the course of 2 weeks, she managed to sell me about 8 boxes

bought 5 boxes the day she brought her best friend (and fellow girlguide/ranger, tied me down to the bed and.....

mmmm......girl guide......
cookies