Over the last three days,we have recorded 26 phone calls from either the local high school band boosters or an anon. caller whose phone number doesn’t show up. I don’t know WHO the anon caller might be or what they want but I sure know what the band boosters want.
This all started about a month ago.The band boosters called and asked if we’d like to buy some cheap,shoddily made trinkets to support the local high school band. We said no the first two or three times they called and thought “Well that’s the end of that.”
Wrong!
They keep calling us!We know it’s them because the ph.will show up along with ‘band boosters’ on the caller ID.CG and I have started writing down the day and time of their calls as well as all the anon ones too. I am SICK to death of getting flogged with phone calls from these people. I don’t know WHO they are but I wish they’d stop calling. We are on the Texas ‘no-call’ list but that list does not (unfortunately)extend to non-profit orgnizations or those you already have an existing business relationship with.
I swear the next time they call us, I"m going to really let them have it and tear them a new asshole.
IDBB
Can you call the local high school to complain? Mention the 26 calls.
That’s why we’re documenting it,Manda Jo.So that when we DO call the HS we can show them the number of times we’ve been called.
IDBB
I’d call them now: if 26 isn’t enough to get action, 120 won’t be.
I don’t know how you fel about lying to telemarketers, but saying something like “My mother is VERY ILL and every time the phone rings, my heart leaps into my throat . . .” will make them take you much more seriously.
Ya know…I might just use that t he next time the damn idiots call.They are almost as bad as the people who force their kids to go door to door selling crap.If I EVER have kids and some nitwit teacher tells them they have to sell insert type of cheap,crappy product here for school,I’m going to ask that teacher if it’s for a grade and if it’s not vital to my child’s grade average, they ain’t selling it.Screw em.
IDBB
So they really asked you if you wanted to buy cheap, shoddily made trinkets, huh? What a lousy sales pitch. 
You know, you don’t have to take the trinkets. You could just donate some money to the band. (This said, the multiple calls are out of line).
I would donate money to the band,Kallessa but I am so pissed at them, they have NO chance of ever getting one red cent out of me now.
They must be off tonight.Not a single phone call. Hmmm…
IDBB
I hated selling stuff for fund-raisers in school, particularly the cookie tin/wrapping paper crap we sold in high school. The only reason I ever sold any Girl Scout cookies was because my parents took the form to work, but at least we were pushing Thin Mints and shortbreads.
I’ve twice been approached by kids with big blue tubs of candy at gas stations here in Austin. They’ve certainly got a captive audience, but I wonder who decided it would be a good idea to sell overpriced generic candy outside a store where you can get name-brand candy for cheap.
A lot of people actually * like * Girl Scout Cookies. Not so with overpriced junk from catalogs.
We’re known as The Neighborhood Suckers. I just can’t say no to a cute little kid, because I remember having to sell crap for my school quite well, and how much I hated it. Thus, ever kid in the neighborhood knows to come directly to our house, because we’re a sure thing.
Hmmm…I think Girl Scout cookies are overpriced crap. And I LOVE those catalogues with wrapping paper and Christmas stuff, even though I know it’s overpriced.
[hijack]IDBB, I went to read your 'blog, and the “Virgin Coalition” link is dead[/hijack]
Thanks Sugaree.
Kallessa–same with us here in DFW.Every time I’ve gone to the gas station(with the exeception of the week of the ice storm)I’ve gotten approached by some ratty kid in tattered clothes with a big blue tub full of overpriced off-brand candy,candles,etc etc etc. I haven’t bought a single bit of it.What is it these days with pushing candy,etc on people?They are EVERYWHERE…in the malls,at the gas station,in my neighborhood…it’s like I can’t get away from them.
IDBB
Check these links here:
http://www.wa.gov/ago/releases/rel_candy_092299.html
http://www.gfwc.org/our_work.jsp?pageId=gfwc_org_181
http://www.newsherald.com/archive/local/nc081398.htm
Sad to see children being exploited this way.
Have to agree here. When i first moved to the US and encountered Girl Scouts selling cookies, i eagerly bought a box. I’d heard about Girl Scout cookies on TV before, and i’m a real cookie fan, so i though i’d give them a try. I didn’t mind the fact that they seemed pretty expensive, because i know the money goes to help the Girl Scouts. I did mind the fact that the cookies were the most unspiring crap imaginable. The Girl Scouts have not sold me a cookie since then.
What kind of cookies did you buy, mhendo?
When I saw the title I thought of a custom which I often see. I don’t know if this happens elsewhere, but where I live, almost every time I eat in at a fast food place (once a month or so) a deaf person will come in and place cheap trinkets, like pins or keychains, on the table, to sell. They will indicate that they are deaf with a paper attached to the trinket that says “I am deaf…”.
I usually put a dollar out if I have it, many other people do as well. If I don’t, they will just take back the trinket and leave. I wonder if this is a common thing or not, and how many deaf people really do this. I am sure many non-deaf swindlers would resort to this as well.
To tell you the truth, i really don’t remember - it’s over two years ago now. I know i bought two different types, and i seem to remember that one of them had “caramel” in the title somewhere. Sorry.
By the way, if you really think that any particular type is worth trying, i’d probably reconsider my boycott and give it a go.
Well, mhendo, the first thing you should know is that there are apparently regional variations in the cookies. Remembering that:
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Everyone, I mean everyone (except me) loves the Thin Mints. If you like mint, those are your best bet.
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I love the Tagalongs. In Illinois (where I live), the boxes are labeled “Peanut Butter Patties” and they suck. In Wisconsin (where my Girl Scout niece lives) the boxes are labeled “Tagalongs” and I love them. These are the ones I would personally recommend–but only the “Tagalongs”. Look at the boxes or the order form before buying.
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My mother likes the Samoas. In Illinois, these are called “Caramel Delites” and they suck. In Wisconsin, they are called “Samoas”. Or the other way around maybe. I don’t buy those because I hate coconut, so it doesn’t matter to me which are which. If the “Caramel Delites” are what you bought because you thought you’d like them based on the description, see if you can get hold of the “Samoas” and try those.
Somebody did this to me at the Student Union just the other day as I was eating lunch. I’d never seen it before and was wondering what the hell was up with that kid. I didn’t know if it was like all of the charities that send you address labels and such with hopes that you’ll feel guilty for taking it (although they leave you no choicee) and send them money. I didn’t have any money (spent the last of it on my buritto) and was happy when he came back and took the trinket. I’m also a total sucker (i’ve invited some girls selling mag subscriptions to help fund their public speaking classes in for soda’s and let them use my bathroom before- I’m a speech major so they tugged at the heartstrings) and it’s gotten to the point where I physically can’t give anymore. I’m broke. Plus it pisses off the b/f that i’m such a sucker. Kinda makes me mad that I’m made to feel guilty for not giving away money to every charity that hits me up…