This Girl Scout cookie typifies my horrible marriage.

[Anonymous]

GS doesn't allow the girls to sell door to door without an adult anymore. Back when I was a kid ...

[Anonymous]

When I calculate the total orders for my kids, I usually have to do it 3 or 4 times before the numbers come up the same 2 times in a row. I wouldn't expect a kid under the age of 11 or 12 to be able to come close to getting it right. You're asking a lot of a 7-year-old to be able to decipher that chart and check off deliveries. The parent was in charge here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hummm... isn't it the GIRLS responsibility to deliver this stuff? It is her organization and its about teaching her responsibility. Why is the father on the hook? IF the girl doesn't do it right then its a learning experience for her. I really think all the cookiemomsters are missing the whole point of Girlscouts. They treat it like it is their social club and taking over the work the children are intended to do. Kids don't learn anything if they are not the ones doing the activity. too often the girls simply get carried around while the parents do the activity for them.

The cookies aren't free and real money is paid for them. The cookie sales are a fun learning opportunity for the girls - but it is an adult supervised learning opportunity.

Key word "supervised" not done for them by the adults. Again, cookiemomster improperly blames the husband. I remember when I was a kid doing these sorts of fund raisers. I remember one time there was a mistake with the order. I was terrified to go to that house and explain what happened. It was such a big deal to me as an 8 year old. My parents didn't do it for me. The school didn't do it for me. I had to go there and ask the woman if she wanted to accept the stuff even though the order was wrong. She said no. I had to work it out with the school myself. My parents were not involved at all. I delivered the stuff using my bike.

Why the heck are you parents even involved in this stuff. You children are learning nothing.

Agree. The mom or dad should just be following along behind as the kids knock on doors. The girl should talk to the buyer, fill out the form, do the math, and make sure the right cookies get to the right houses. If they're too young to do that, they shouldn't be selling Girl Scout cookies.

Girl Scouts needs to go back to having a minimum age to sell cookies. It used to be ten and I think that's a good age for kids to be mature enough to do what is necessary. With kids younger than that, it's the parents doing it for them.

[Anonymous]

While selling girl scout cookies is part of an experience for the girls, the true purpose is to raise funds, not earn a badge. Yes, the girls AND their parents are helping to raise funds for their troops. That is the reason all girls should participate if they can. The troops need the money.

[Anonymous]

Yes and no on the "troops need the money" point. That's only at the ends of the spectrum -- the troops with very low-income parents need the money for basics like uniforms and basic supplies. The troops with high-middle-class parents need the money for high-end stuff, like going to Jamboree at Hershey Park.
We have a middle class troop that doesn't do a lot of expensive outings, so we don't really need the money as troop. Our girls can sell as many or as few cookies as they want -- I don't want any parent to feel they need to be out hitting the pavement to earn money for the troop.

That said, a large portion of the cookie sales goes not to the troop, but to the Council and national organization, which does use it to support programs for less fortunate Girl Scouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a cookie mom, troop leader, and wife of a man who fucked up my cookie inventory beyond recognition last year by treating it as his own personal snack supply (which resulted in my complete and utter meltdown after taking a redeye home from a work trip), this thread hits so close to home.

This is insane! Even my two year old would be able to stay out of a box of stuff if I told her to. Literally the only domestic being I can think of that wouldn't be able to understand no in a situation like this is a dog. Did he not understand that the cookies were for GS orders? Or did he think the entire supply, which I assume was quite large, were the "leftovers"?

I have to say if you left a case of trefoils laying around I could not be responsible for my behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok how did they know which houses to go to at all without a list? And if they did have a list, did they simply skip a few houses? Seems like a pretty easy fix, just look back at the list. Did they only deliver partial orders to some of the customers? Seems unlikely, as each customer would want to verify they got their desired cookies as they were handed over.

Did they not check off each box from each order as it was delivered?

Did your husband perhaps pick up more boxes than he ordered?

I think the only (and obvious) answer is that either he failed to check off which houses he delivered to (and missed some), or he misread lines and delivered mrs. Smith's smaller order to Mr. Jones, possibly more than once. Smart money is on the first option--having delivered cookies more than once, there is absolutely no way you get them all delivered on the first go-round. People are never he and you have to go back repeatedly. Lesson is to make sure you get a legible phone number for all orders (so you can call and say "your cookies are in, when would be a convenient time to deliver them?") And absolutely positively check them off as you deliver them. Without that simple step, there is just no f-ing way to fix it unless you go back to each house and interview them (and good luck with that.

If it's the first it's definitely on the DH. If he did hit every house however, and spoke to the peeps who ordered it as he handed over the cookies, I say it's on them for not knowing if they were being shorted or not. Caveat emptor and all. Not surprised there were raisins and Samoans left but who wouldn't remember how many thin mints they ordered?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hummm... isn't it the GIRLS responsibility to deliver this stuff? It is her organization and its about teaching her responsibility. Why is the father on the hook? IF the girl doesn't do it right then its a learning experience for her. I really think all the cookiemomsters are missing the whole point of Girlscouts. They treat it like it is their social club and taking over the work the children are intended to do. Kids don't learn anything if they are not the ones doing the activity. too often the girls simply get carried around while the parents do the activity for them.

The cookies aren't free and real money is paid for them. The cookie sales are a fun learning opportunity for the girls - but it is an adult supervised learning opportunity.

Key word "supervised" not done for them by the adults. Again, cookiemomster improperly blames the husband. I remember when I was a kid doing these sorts of fund raisers. I remember one time there was a mistake with the order. I was terrified to go to that house and explain what happened. It was such a big deal to me as an 8 year old. My parents didn't do it for me. The school didn't do it for me. I had to go there and ask the woman if she wanted to accept the stuff even though the order was wrong. She said no. I had to work it out with the school myself. My parents were not involved at all. I delivered the stuff using my bike.

Why the heck are you parents even involved in this stuff. You children are learning nothing.

Well, the cookie momster is not going to hand cookies over to a kid w/o a parent present. The kids aren't supposed to sell or deliver the cookies without a parent present. So, the parent is definitely involved (and responsible) in the whole cookie thing. A 2nd grader is going to have a tough time handling a large volume of door to door sales. Just think of everything they need to keep straight - the math involved in adding their numbers up and making sure that they've collected the correct amount of money.

The Op's daughter had 20 boxes of "leftover" cookies. Just think how many boxes that little girl actually delivered. If her daddy wasn't helping her that was a shame because it was too much for a 7 year old to handle by herself.

They would have been way better off selling 10 boxes to the neighbors just on their street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok how did they know which houses to go to at all without a list? And if they did have a list, did they simply skip a few houses? Seems like a pretty easy fix, just look back at the list. Did they only deliver partial orders to some of the customers? Seems unlikely, as each customer would want to verify they got their desired cookies as they were handed over.

Did they not check off each box from each order as it was delivered?

Did your husband perhaps pick up more boxes than he ordered?

I think the only (and obvious) answer is that either he failed to check off which houses he delivered to (and missed some), or he misread lines and delivered mrs. Smith's smaller order to Mr. Jones, possibly more than once. Smart money is on the first option--having delivered cookies more than once, there is absolutely no way you get them all delivered on the first go-round. People are never he and you have to go back repeatedly. Lesson is to make sure you get a legible phone number for all orders (so you can call and say "your cookies are in, when would be a convenient time to deliver them?") And absolutely positively check them off as you deliver them. Without that simple step, there is just no f-ing way to fix it unless you go back to each house and interview them (and good luck with that.

If it's the first it's definitely on the DH. If he did hit every house however, and spoke to the peeps who ordered it as he handed over the cookies, I say it's on them for not knowing if they were being shorted or not. Caveat emptor and all. Not surprised there were raisins and Samoans left but who wouldn't remember how many thin mints they ordered?

It's usually weeks between ordering and receiving. I would bet that a lot of people cannot remember their exact order. That is why it's recorded on that handy dandy order form, right next to the box that says "paid", and the box that says "delivered".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok how did they know which houses to go to at all without a list? And if they did have a list, did they simply skip a few houses? Seems like a pretty easy fix, just look back at the list. Did they only deliver partial orders to some of the customers? Seems unlikely, as each customer would want to verify they got their desired cookies as they were handed over.

Did they not check off each box from each order as it was delivered?

Did your husband perhaps pick up more boxes than he ordered?

I think the only (and obvious) answer is that either he failed to check off which houses he delivered to (and missed some), or he misread lines and delivered mrs. Smith's smaller order to Mr. Jones, possibly more than once. Smart money is on the first option--having delivered cookies more than once, there is absolutely no way you get them all delivered on the first go-round. People are never he and you have to go back repeatedly. Lesson is to make sure you get a legible phone number for all orders (so you can call and say "your cookies are in, when would be a convenient time to deliver them?") And absolutely positively check them off as you deliver them. Without that simple step, there is just no f-ing way to fix it unless you go back to each house and interview them (and good luck with that.

If it's the first it's definitely on the DH. If he did hit every house however, and spoke to the peeps who ordered it as he handed over the cookies, I say it's on them for not knowing if they were being shorted or not. Caveat emptor and all. Not surprised there were raisins and Samoans left but who wouldn't remember how many thin mints they ordered?

New Poster here: I wouldn't. I generally sign up and pay for a few boxes and forget about it. Since girl scouts are little kids -- and parents with their hands full of taking care of their kids -- I let it go. People make mistakes, especially exhausted, stressed out parents. If I don't get every single box delivered perfectly, guess what I do? Go to the Giant on a Saturday to buy a box from the troop outside the store.

Remember this is for charity, so people spend $4 a box when they could go to the grocery and buy other cookies for 1/2 that price because they like supporting Girl Scouts. People who are going to freak out over missing their Samoans are crazy -- and rare. Others will just go on with their lives. If you get any outraged complaints, OP, shame on the complainers. People buy GS cookies for the kids.

Here's my advice: don't get angry at your DH! Thank god for him because he was willing to do an onerous chore -- out of love for your kids and YOU! He sounds like a great dad who made a mistake. Forgive him and appreciate him. If you doubt, just check out the "what kind of guy goes to prostitutes" thread to see what kind of A$$h*le$ men can sometimes be. Your DH isn't one of those guys. He's a guy who went around the neighborhood with your kids selling cookies after he was exhausted from work -- an unselfish labor of love. Lucky you!

Signed,
an equally lucky DW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok how did they know which houses to go to at all without a list? And if they did have a list, did they simply skip a few houses? Seems like a pretty easy fix, just look back at the list. Did they only deliver partial orders to some of the customers? Seems unlikely, as each customer would want to verify they got their desired cookies as they were handed over.

Did they not check off each box from each order as it was delivered?

Did your husband perhaps pick up more boxes than he ordered?

I think the only (and obvious) answer is that either he failed to check off which houses he delivered to (and missed some), or he misread lines and delivered mrs. Smith's smaller order to Mr. Jones, possibly more than once. Smart money is on the first option--having delivered cookies more than once, there is absolutely no way you get them all delivered on the first go-round. People are never he and you have to go back repeatedly. Lesson is to make sure you get a legible phone number for all orders (so you can call and say "your cookies are in, when would be a convenient time to deliver them?") And absolutely positively check them off as you deliver them. Without that simple step, there is just no f-ing way to fix it unless you go back to each house and interview them (and good luck with that.

If it's the first it's definitely on the DH. If he did hit every house however, and spoke to the peeps who ordered it as he handed over the cookies, I say it's on them for not knowing if they were being shorted or not. Caveat emptor and all. Not surprised there were raisins and Samoans left but who wouldn't remember how many thin mints they ordered?

New Poster here: I wouldn't. I generally sign up and pay for a few boxes and forget about it. Since girl scouts are little kids -- and parents with their hands full of taking care of their kids -- I let it go. People make mistakes, especially exhausted, stressed out parents. If I don't get every single box delivered perfectly, guess what I do? Go to the Giant on a Saturday to buy a box from the troop outside the store.

Remember this is for charity, so people spend $4 a box when they could go to the grocery and buy other cookies for 1/2 that price because they like supporting Girl Scouts. People who are going to freak out over missing their Samoans are crazy -- and rare. Others will just go on with their lives. If you get any outraged complaints, OP, shame on the complainers. People buy GS cookies for the kids.

Here's my advice: don't get angry at your DH! Thank god for him because he was willing to do an onerous chore -- out of love for your kids and YOU! He sounds like a great dad who made a mistake. Forgive him and appreciate him. If you doubt, just check out the "what kind of guy goes to prostitutes" thread to see what kind of A$$h*le$ men can sometimes be. Your DH isn't one of those guys. He's a guy who went around the neighborhood with your kids selling cookies after he was exhausted from work -- an unselfish labor of love. Lucky you!

Signed,
an equally lucky DW

No. I'm sorry. 20 boxes of "leftovers" that didn't get delivered to the people who ordered and paid for them means that he took the task on but did not come through as promised.

Will the neighbors who ordered and paid for cookies that never got delivered ever order cookies again? Maybe some of them will but I bet a lot of them won't . That's a shame.

[Anonymous]

Geez Op, why this is your problem? Let it go! When we as women learn not to fix it or worry about it every time someone else is screwing up. Repeat after me" Not my problem". Now go and do something nice for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While selling girl scout cookies is part of an experience for the girls, the true purpose is to raise funds, not earn a badge. Yes, the girls AND their parents are helping to raise funds for their troops. That is the reason all girls should participate if they can. The troops need the money.

so is the true purpose to "raise funds?" If that is the purpose then why involve the kids at all? You people are conflating two issues here. The "true purpose" should be to give kids a chance to learn and grow. IF funds get raised in the process great! However, all of you task oriented tiger moms and cookie momsters are losing sight of the forest for the trees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Doing the work for the kids even in the name of "supervision" cheats the children of dealing with problems and solving those sorts of real-world problems. The kids need to learn to keep track of the money. To take an order and remember where to deliver it. They need to be responsible for those sorts of things. Problems will happen and the kids will be freaked out but then they will figure out how to resolve the issue. The purpose isn't to "sell cookies" the purpose is for the kids to deal with problems that have real-world consequences. Sheltering kids from that doesn't help them.

Example... my 13 year old took an order from the boy-scouts one day and didn't tell me about it. When the boy scouts came back I wasn't home and the 13 year old was on the hook for paying the boy-scouts for popcorn. Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication and the boy-scouts wanted $60 for a case of popcorn. My 13 year old was a little freaked out but he went into his wallet and paid for the order. When I got home he told me what happened. I looked at him and said "I'm sorry that happened to you.... what did you learn?" He said "not to order popcorn from the boy-scouts" I laughed and asked "what else?" she shrugged his shoulders and so I explained to him (1) he broke the rules about opening the door for people and (2) that when he places an order to double check the order to make sure it is correct and to get a price in advance. It was a learning experience for him.

Your 13 year old isn't allowed to open the door when you aren't home?

Not for strange people we don't know. Are you suggesting its OK for kids to let just anyone have access to their house? What if they let in some sort of missionaries?

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm so curious! Whatever happened? Did your DH finally admit that he screwed up and there are no such thing as leftovers?

Also, I order cookies from whichever little kid comes to my house, and I never have any idea what I had ordered or if I had paid or not. Hopefully the people who didn't get their cookies are as disorganized as I am.