Would this annoy you? Girl Scout Cookie hassle. (teenagers, grandpa, friends)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think the "dangers" of going door to door are severely exaggerated.
.
I think the case Mighty Queen is referencing disputes that. Google "Joan D'Elessandro, which took place in a nice NJ town. It sent shock waves through our area.
I think the case Mighty Queen is referencing disputes that. Google "Joan D'Elessandro, which took place in a nice NJ town. It sent shock waves through our area.
I don't know the case, but I would ask:
Was the girl alone or with friends?
How old was the girl?
Was she taught to not go inside anyone's house as a strict rule?
What time of day was this?
Was an adult nearby to supervise/assist?
I still maintain that if a kid is older (like over 8) then going out with friends as a team is safe, during daylight hours. If the kid is younger, or alone, them mom might follow along in the car like my mom did. Sometimes a few moms would hang out together in the car and shoot the breeze, and wait at the end of each block while we went door to door.
Honestly, I wouldn't want to go door to door even if my daughter was allowed. This is my daughter's first year in Girl Scouts and I've volunteered to be a Cookie Mom for the first time. My training starts in Dec. I only volunteered because I expect to be paid in the currency of Thin Mints and Tag Alongs.
Tell her that your newly adopted son is selling coupon books for stores in your area. You need her to buy two of them and you will buy some cookies in return. The coupon books are $75 each and shipping is $15, but if she ever comes to your area, she can save over $3000 using the coupons.
I have a friend, okay...more of an acquaintance that has her daughters in Girl Scouts. This woman lives a couple states away and sent me a message asking if I would buy cookies. I hate when parents bug me to buy that kind of stuff. I understand its a hassle and when my son was in Boy Scouts and other groups I had to sell the stuff too. Most of the time, I just bought the minimum or donated the money because I hate the hassle of asking people. So I told my friend that I wasn't really interested in the cookies (as I had been nailed twice already at the local Lowe's) but told her that I would send a check and she could buy the cookies and have them for herself and family. I just didn't want more junk in the house and truly didn't see the point in having them shipped to me on top of it.
She INSISTED that she mail them to me. I told her no, just take my check and keep the cookies. I bought 30 dollars worth and forgot about it. My good deed was done I thought. About a month or so later I get a package in the mail. Yep, its the damn cookies. 30 freaking dollars worth. So I called her up and thanked her but letting her know it wasn't necessary. She said she appreciated it and her daughter was the highest seller in her troop. Then she goes on to say that another friend that lives out of state saw how much she spent on shipping and offered to pay for that as well. She kept saying it and I know it was a huge hint for me to chip in for the shipping which ended up being almost 8 dollars. When I got the box and saw the postage on it, I did think about sending her another check but it annoyed me. I told her not to send them and she did anyway. She brought it up one more time during another conversation. I cut her short and refused to deal with it. Overall she is an okay person, I don't see the friendship going beyond acquaintances though.
Well its that time of year again. I just got a message from her asking if Im interested in some cookies. She also threw in that she would be charging people for shipping this year since last year she spent too much on it. I haven't replied yet and its only been 2 days. I just got a second reminder today about the damn cookies. Sheesh...pushy. Her daughter seems like a nice kid and I don't mind helping her out but I didn't find the first experience all that great. I got a real problem with people trying to make me feel like a cheap arse when in fact, i was quite generous to begin with. How would you respond to her second request? I don't want to be nasty but I feel like anytime she mentions these cookies its a jab.
I think the woman's behavior is completely out of line. That said, I think you can just politely decline, no explanation needed. Or tell her that you will purchase your cookies from some local scouts (no point in shipping cookies around the country!), but best of luck to her and her daughter.
. Well its that time of year again. I just got a message from her asking if Im interested in some cookies. She also threw in that she would be charging people for shipping this year since last year she spent too much on it. I haven't replied yet and its only been 2 days. I just got a second reminder today about the damn cookies. Sheesh...pushy. Her daughter seems like a nice kid and I don't mind helping her out but I didn't find the first experience all that great. I got a real problem with people trying to make me feel like a cheap arse when in fact, i was quite generous to begin with. How would you respond to her second request? I don't want to be nasty but I feel like anytime she mentions these cookies its a jab.
As a former Girl Scout and mother of Girl Scout, I did it myself when I was a Girl Scout. I know things were safer then - we used the buddy system though - and then when my daughter sold the cookies, I went with her several weekends but she did the work.
With kids e-mailing and texting so much these days, they should be sending the e-mails! - I can't believe her mom even contacts people out of state - a little pushy and it doesn't teach the kids anything.
I feel bad for the child and other children - b/c then they expect their parents to do the same but that's not what it's all about.
I think the "dangers" of going door to door are severely exaggerated. Sure if you live in a slum, you wouldn't want to. But there should be no danger in going door to door, in your own neighborhood, with adult supervision, or several kids going as a team. When I was a kid and sold stuff for Brownies, Girl Scouts, and every team I was on, if I didn't have someone to go around with, Mom would just follow along in the car while I walked door to door lugging boxes around. We all just had a rule that we couldn't go inside anyone's house. You get to learn to speak up, be assertive, be polite to adults who you don't know, or don't know very well. Builds character.
When people at work ask me if I want Girl Scout cookies, I look shocked and say "Are YOU really a Girl Scout?" They say, no, their kid is, so I say, sure I'll be glad to buy a bunch of cookies from your daughter, but not from you. Then it's up to them to get their kid here at the end of the workday, and I'm happy to buy from them. And other employees jump in and buy too, so it's a win-win.
I think a lot of us who are customers resent when a parent does all the work for the kid. The kid doesn't learn anything.
I once won a prize for being the highest seller of magazine subscriptions for cheerleading, and it felt great because I had done it myself. If my mom and dad had taken the forms to work and pressured people to buy them, I would not have felt so good about my accomplishment, nor would I have learned to have a sense of responsibility.
If you do live in a "questionable" neighborhood, or can't drive behind the kid selling stuff, there are other options. I remember taking boxes of cookies to church to sell, and sitting at a table in the parking lot of 7-11.
I don't buy fundraising stuff from parents, but I'll happily buy it from the kids. I make it a firm policy, and people seem to respect it.
I agree with this post.
However, it's hard nowadays to do this kind of thing. It's SO frowned upon from every angle of the parenting universe. From the troop leaders to other parents to schools to neighbors, everyone is in such a state of WIF (What If Fear) that I wonder if it's even a feasible option anymore.
I think the case Mighty Queen is referencing disputes that. Google "Joan D'Elessandro, which took place in a nice NJ town. It sent shock waves through our area.
No I don't think so. If isolated cases like that dictate the behavior of millions, then people shouldn't jog anymore (Central Park Jogger, Chandra Levy). Yes, it is scary and sad when things like this happen, but I don't believe disallowing children to participate in a positive & healthy activity is the right answer.
Honestly, I wouldn't want to go door to door even if my daughter was allowed. This is my daughter's first year in Girl Scouts and I've volunteered to be a Cookie Mom for the first time. My training starts in Dec. I only volunteered because I expect to be paid in the currency of Thin Mints and Tag Alongs.
So who is doing the selling then? If it is your daughter, who is she selling to? Is she the one addressing potential buyers or is she sitting there while the adults do the work?
I only ask because I've seen cookie tables set up outside of many businesses. A good chunk of the time, the mothers are the ones conducting the business while the girls are sitting there playing on their DS's.
I apologize to Girl Scouts and Girl Scout parents everywhere, but I don't really care about the learning experience. I just like the cookies.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When I got the box and saw the postage on it, I did think about sending her another check but it annoyed me. I told her not to send them and she did anyway. She brought it up one more time during another conversation. I cut her short and refused to deal with it. Overall she is an okay person, I don't see the friendship going beyond acquaintances though. 
I haven't replied yet and its only been 2 days. I just got a second reminder today about the damn cookies. Sheesh...pushy. Her daughter seems like a nice kid and I don't mind helping her out but I didn't find the first experience all that great. I got a real problem with people trying to make me feel like a cheap arse when in fact, i was quite generous to begin with. How would you respond to her second request? I don't want to be nasty but I feel like anytime she mentions these cookies its a jab. 
