Next week, you can expect to see Girl Scouts across the city out in front of area stores. They’ll be asking you to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies.
While the boxes might look the same, possibly even feel the same, they’re not the same. This year, cookie boxes will be lighter, and in some cases smaller than in years past. The Girl Scouts say it’s because of the rising cost of making the cookies, and by making small reductions they can keep the prices from going up.
This brings me to my next topic… selling the cookies.
This brought up a unique conversation in the newsroom. One producer, who shall remain nameless, says scouts are “evil, because they put the good looking moms in front of stores where men will be” and “who wants to be the jerk who says no to a little girl asking you to spend $3?”
It’s not evil; it’s strategic marketing.
As a former scout, I can tell you that being eight years old and asking strangers to give you money was nerve-racking. So what if we positioned ourselves where we knew people wouldn’t say no, and if they did, they normally changed their minds?
Scouts work hard and in a day and age where it can be a risk to go door to door asking people to buy cookies, staking out in front of a local H-E-B, Walgreens or other is probably the safest way for the girls to accomplish their goals.
That said, I think it’s easier to come up with a plan to avoid the girls as you walk into a store than it is to avoid a co-worker who walks around with the pre-order sheet. Again, not that I’m opposed to parents helping their kids meet their goals, but that sheet (and everyone else who signs up on it) is much harder to avoid.
In the end, the conversation wrapped up with the general consensus that Girl Scout Cookies only come around once a year, so it’s worth the money.
It’s also worth the five minutes it will take to help some local girls learn how to become more assertive and confident.
