USA Today recently reported that Girl Scout cookie pre-sales had tumbled up to 19% in some regions, which is problematic because these pre-sales account for 70% of cookie sales, and the revenue is used to fund Girl Scout activities in neighborhoods nationwide. Consumers cited everything from cookie quality to the economy to the portion cuts for their purchase decrease.
Since I spent a few years in Brownie, and then Girl Scout, troop as a kid, I thought the least I could do would be to order 2 boxes to support my local girls. Since I don’t actually know any Girl Scouts, I headed over to GirlScoutCookies.org to place an order.
There’s no way to order online, which seems to be a big short coming of their system. I impulsively wanted cookies “now”, so it would seem getting my credit card info BEFORE I changed my mind might be a good strategy. Instead, I shared my contact info so someone could get in touch with me about an order.
The next day I received a follow-up message regarding my cookies.
OK. I can wait. Since I submitted my info on a Friday, February 20th, I figure I’d hear back during the following work week. But nothing. Silence.
On Wednesday, March 4th, I finally get a response!! YAY! I will be able to order cookies. . . or not.
TWELVE days after submitting my information because I really wanted a box of Lemon Cremes and maybe a box of Samoas, they directly tell me they might be too busy to take my order.
TWELVE days ago, I really wanted those cookies so I could SUPPORT local girls, because I bake a better cookie than I could ever buy from a Girl Scout. But after following their instructions to pre-order, I essentially get told they’re too busy to take my order, and I should track them down on a weekend, probably in front of a grocery store. Are they intentionally playing hard to get, even with sales down?
At this point, I don’t want cookies anymore. So that’s an $8 sale they lost.
It seems absurd that you can’t order Girl Scout cookies online and either pay for shipping or pick them up at a designated location once they become available. Take my money while I’m of the mindset to part with it.
Could you imagine going to JCrew.com and after picking out some new threads being told to go to your local store to purchase them? They’d be losing a lot of business, which might be a good lesson for the Girl Scouts’ “leading business and economic literacy program.”
Why even offer a pre-order option if the troops won’t actually take your order? Wouldn’t it be better just to have prospective buyers submit their contact info and zip code so they can automatically be sent a list of dates and locations that cookies will be available for purchase? In that case, I’d at least think they wanted my money.
Instead, I’ll going to spend my $8 on the chocolate chip cookie ingredients on the back of a bag of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.
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I was a Brownie/Girl Scout as well, but the Girl Scout progarm in Utah is so small I haven’t had a GS Cookie in years. I have to settle for the GS Cookie Ice cream. BLAST, tagalongs sound really good right now.
Man, I remember selling cookies as a kid. I learned a lot about sales tactics from that!
They’ve probably got a web design merit badge by now. You’d think they’d use this as a lesson to teach girls about the current business climate, instead of just relying on the old “door-to-door” method. (When was the last time YOU bought something peddled at your doorstep?)
Hope the cookies you made turned out better than the ones you would have bought.
Single Girl, Is that a giant smore on the right side of your blog? Wherever does one order that?
Melanie,
Let’s face it, most kids send the order forms to work with their parents. MAYBE they hit up their teachers.
The Girl Scout brand is shrinking. Evolving with the times would mean some change to their fundraising model, but I bet all that change is slow to happen.
Soft chewy home made cookies always beat what you can buy in box. Joythebaker.com is my baking blog of choice.
I love the girl scout cookies i was very disappointed that i didn’t have the opportunity to purchase cookies i did not see any girl scouts trying to sell cookies or anyone at the local wal-mart trying to sell cookies. I agree that customers should be able to go on-line a purchase cookies. I feel that this organization will loose alot of customers because they are not willing to accomodate due to the economy circumstances.