# How Mrs. Kunilou got a Girl Scout in hot water **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096 "2004-02-19T23:39:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/81 "2011-02-09T20:20:32Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > These are aka booth sales – where the GS’s set up a booth outside a grocery store and hit you up as you’re trying to sneak out undetected. Nope. Cookie cupboard is a place where troops can restock their supplies. Civilians can’t go there, only troop personnel. Booth sales are, as noted, where we set up tables in front of grocery stores etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/82 "2011-02-09T20:23:45Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Our Council changed the cookie process this year - there was no pre-order. So we’ve been able to hand you cookies when you order them. If the girls don’t have the type you want in their sled (wagon, mom’s car), she can write it down as an order and get them to you within - well, maybe a few minutes if they are back at home - or a few days if they are at the Cookie Mom’s house - or a week or so if someone needs to run to the cupboard… > Neither of those things is odd. Yep - there are several teen troops in our area. Those girls tend to really save up their money and go on a fairly major trip somewhere after a year or two of doing so. I want Moon Unit to stick with Scouts so I can escort her on a cruise, dammit! :p. How does the no-preorders thing work with having to stock up on an unknown quantity of boxes? I live in terror of our troop getting stuck with extra product (and having to pay for it), so I tend to manage our inventory VERY tightly… to the point of hitting a cupboard at least once a week and getting JUST enough to meet our demand. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/83 "2011-02-09T20:24:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It’s got to be more then that or I’m right on the boarder. When I buy Thin Mints from cousins I have to ask them which district (is that the right word?) they’re in. If they’re on my side of town, it’s ok. But some of my cousins live about 45 minutes North of me and get there’s from a different bakery. The Thin Mints from them taste awful. Actually, what I usually say is “do they come in foil sleeves or clear sleeves?” For some reason the two places package them differently so that’s the easiest way to tell. Ours are from Little Brownie Bakers and come in clear sleeves. Which are the ones you think taste bad? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/84 "2011-02-09T20:32:00Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > [This poster seems appropriate.](http://www.bestmotivationalposters.com/images/girl-scouts-funny-motivational-poster.jpg) I love that one. First time I saw it, I showed it to another troop mom. She and I both agreed that girl looked stunningly like one of the girls in our troop :D. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/85 "2011-02-09T20:44:10Z")
I think she looks like Drew Barrymore in _Firestarter_. ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/86 "2011-02-09T20:46:37Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > How does the no-preorders thing work with having to stock up on an unknown quantity of boxes? I live in terror of our troop getting stuck with extra product (and having to pay for it), so I tend to manage our inventory VERY tightly… to the point of hitting a cupboard at least once a week and getting JUST enough to meet our demand. Last year was my first time. I had three long time Scouts who knew about how many boxes they needed of each type, and three new girls. I just pre-ordered about half of what the experienced Scouts asked for, and about 3 cases worth of assorted cookies for each of the new girls. I think my initial order was only 32 cases. I wound up having to go to the warehouse a few times to get more cases, and we wound up selling 84. Towards the end of the sale I did a lot of trading and a few transfers to shore up my inventory for booths and such, rather than picking up more cases (tightly managing inventory, as you said). We did not get stuck with a single box of cookies. This year my initial order was 69 cases, but I could do that with confidence because I had good data (including what we sold boothing) from last year. We’re up to 108 cases now and I have to go to the warehouse again on Friday. I guess the secret to pre-ordering is to be conservative about it, since you can always go get more. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/87 "2011-02-09T22:18:31Z")
We used our initial order data from last year. Not cookie booth sales or add on late sales, but just the initial order. Then I parsed the cookies out in an approximate relation to that (Sarah’s friends and family seem to order lots of Samoas, but no one in Maddie’s families seems to like coconut). There is a return day - but you can only return full cases. Then we signed up for our first booth - I’m figuring that is where the extra cookies will get sold. Our service unit also has active “cookie trading” - Once we get to booth sales (its too early now) we will get a lot of “we have eight boxes of Lemon Creme’s” and “before I go to the cupboard, does anyone have Tagalongs?” I was doubtful - but a week into sales its looking pretty good. People do buy more cookies when the girls show up at the door with cookies in hand. Its been fantastic for work sales for my husband - he keeps them at his desk and people buy them (I don’t - my company isn’t big on product sales). One of my parents opened his trunk at the gas station and he and his daughter managed to sell 40 boxes in about 20 minutes…“You have Girl Scout Cookies!” A starter troop would be hard - although Council was good about providing statistical information - i.e. if you sell 100 boxes, its likely to be 29 Thin Mints and 14 Do-Si-Dos. So with that sort of tool (they had a little calculator) you could set your troop goal (say 25-50 boxes a girl to be conservative) and start there. I’m telling my girls to save their money (otherwise, they want to do everything and cookies will pay for it all) and when they are in Middle or High School, we’ll do a big trip. We don’t sell enough cookies to cruise … but I have a timeshare in Orlando that I’d donate…Part of this is to get them to think about long term goals. Part of it is because the drop out rate in middle/high school is high and I want them to have a reason to stick through this. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/88 "2011-02-09T22:25:52Z")
> [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](#): > > Huh, I wonder if the girl scout selling cookies last weekend at our door was doing the same thing! > > For one thing, she looked about 16 years old. I’d distinctly remembered girl scouts being younger, but whatever. > > For another, she said they had the cookies with her, to give away immediately (the guy in the car in our driveway was apparently the cookie transportation system.). I’d always remembered that cookies had been delivered later. > > I found it just a bit odd so no cookies for me. Did you hear a soundtrack in the background that sounded like “Bow chicka WOW wow”? If so, you were supposed to be in a segment of a porn movie, but you messed up your cue. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/89 "2023-02-23T20:11:35Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > She’s got a point, you know. There _are_ procedures, and those procedures are there for a reason. I came over from the ‘declined in quality’ thread and I was so disappointed this sentence did not turn into a rant from “A Few Good Girls Scouts” > “We live in a world that has cookies. And those walls have to be sold by Girl Scouts. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Mrs. Kunilou? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for stale Thin Mints, and you curse the Girl Scout. You have that luxury. The luxury of the hungry. The luxury of not knowing what I know: That stale Thin Mints, while tragic, probably saved money. And last year’s cookies, while grotesque and uncomprehensible to you, saves money. You can’t handle it. Because deep down, in places you don’t talk about, you want your Thin Mints early. You need Thin Mints early. We use words like Be Prepared. We use these words as a backbone to a life spent selling cookies. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who craves the cookies I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide them. I’d prefer you just said thank you and dunk them in your milk. Otherwise, I’d suggest you wait until March.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/90 "2023-02-23T20:20:58Z")
The Girl Scout mentioned in the OP is at least old enough to drink now. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/91 "2023-02-23T20:26:55Z")
And you should never drink a girl scout before they are properly aged. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096/92 "2023-02-24T02:01:28Z")
You. Win. The Internet. Tripler I just snorted Samoas and milk from my nose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mrs-kunilou-got-a-girl-scout-in-hot-water/230096.md?page=4)