Girl Scouts Selling Outside of Grocery Stores (San Diego: sales, Home Depot)

[djxpress]

It's Girl Scout cookie time. I'm curious of people's thoughts of girls selling outside of grocery stores? In the old days, girls used to go door to door or ask family and friends to buy cookies. Now it seems like tiger parents sell the cookies to everyone at work, girls set up booths on the side of the road, or they hang out at the doorways to grocery stores looking for those unsuspecting shoppers.

Do people like/dislike this? I always get anxious when I see them in front of the grocery store. I end up scanning both entrances to go to the entrance with no sellers. I just don't have the heart to tell 'em no and get the look of sadness from the girl and disgust from the parent. Sometimes I pretend to be on the phone or I wait until others are leaving the store too, so I can disappear in the crowd.

I support the Girl Scouts, but I support them by buying from my 2 nieces.

[smpliving]

I buy cookies from my co-worker’s daughter. I love Girl Scout cookies, so it’s always a welcomed treat for me.

[Jowel]

Originally Posted by djxpress

It's Girl Scout cookie time. I'm curious of people's thoughts of girls selling outside of grocery stores? In the old days, girls used to go door to door or ask family and friends to buy cookies. Now it seems like tiger parents sell the cookies to everyone at work, girls set up booths on the side of the road, or they hang out at the doorways to grocery stores looking for those unsuspecting shoppers.

Do people like/dislike this? I always get anxious when I see them in front of the grocery store. I end up scanning both entrances to go to the entrance with no sellers. I just don't have the heart to tell 'em no and get the look of sadness from the girl and disgust from the parent. Sometimes I pretend to be on the phone or I wait others are leaving the store too, so I can disappear in the crowd.

I support the Girl Scouts, but I support them by buying from my 2 nieces.

Really? I've never received a look of disgust from parents if I've had to decline but I always try to be polite..."Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have the money today. Good luck with your sales though!" with a smile. And the girls usually just smile and say "that's okay" or something like that and the parents seem gracious too. I think sometimes we underestimate their ability to take light rejection constructively. And I usually buy a box or two from the couple people at work who sell them. Their daughter was gracious enough to write a hand written thank you note attached to the box when it arrived which I thought was gracious.

I was talking to a friend earlier who felt that girls setting up in front of stores selling them was "cheating" compared to the old way where the girls did have to go sell them more actively. That may be a little strong but I get what he was saying.

P.S.: I realize this is the San Diego forum, so I can't speak to anything locally, but I saw it in the "newest threads" section and it was interesting to me, so here I am.

[gizmo980]

My niece is also a Girl Scout, so I just use that as an excuse if the kids outside the stores "attack" me - I say that I'm sorry, but I have to buy them from her! Sometimes I'll give in, though, since one can never have too many boxes of Tagalongs (or whatever they're called now).

Personally, I think this kid deserved an award for ingenuity: https://www.today.com/parents/girl-s...sary-6-t122455

[Endoplasmic]

Girl scouts have been selling in front of business since before I first became a Girl Scout troop leader in the early 90s, so, not really a new thing :-) No problem with just smiling and walking by or politely saying "no thank you" The vast majority of people did.

[TacoSoup]

5 simple words work for every situation. “I gave at the office”

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by TacoSoup

5 simple words work for every situation. “I gave at the office”

ditto

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Girl scouts give you anxiety but not the bums at every corner? Every parking lot? Every single home depot you get attacked with illegals looking for work? Losers trying to shake you down at gas stations saying they "Need just a little gas to get back to LA?"




What?

[oddstray]

At the price they want nowadays, I have no problem saying no. I know, it's a fund raising thing. But when I was a girl scout myself even us kids could afford to buy a box. Now, not so much. It's a just gone a bit too far.

And yes, we sold at businesses as well as door to door even back then.

[athena53]

I'm health-conscious so there is no room for GS cookies in my kitchen. Yes, sales have gotten pervasive and it's now Big Business. I remember the first time a Girl Scout set up a web site to sell cookies and she was reprimanded by HQ. Now HQ provides a way for them to set up a Web site! And the prices have just gone crazy. My late husband, born in 1938, was old enough to remember when cookie sales meant that the girls baked cookies at home and sold them.

You can offer a donation to the troop instead of buying- probably a better use of your funds. The fact that you have 2 nieces who sell them is a perfectly reasonable explanation of why you don't want to buy from others. I personally don't know any Girl Scouts and for people in my position who also WANT to buy, sales at the grocery store are convenient.