Girl Scout Cookies, anyone?

I LOVE Girl Scout cookies, don't you? Mmmmmmmm... Thin Mints are my number one all-time favorite, but I like all of the new cookies, too. Ooooooooh, especially the "Thank You" chocolate covered biscuit cookies. Wow, those are yummy! About the only thing I don't like about GS cookies is the door-to-door selling. But, since they effectively did away with that - and with very good reason and guidelines for selling elsewhere - I can't wait until it's Cookie Time Again!

But, since it's no where near Cookie Time, why am I even thinking about GS Cookies, right?

I'll tell you why...

Because door-to-door selling is STILL alive...and not doing so well. Take today, for example:

"DING DONG... DING DONG!" Um, is that the doorbell??? Hmmm... I don't hear that sound too often - I don't <gasp> shop online and no one I know would dream of just popping in. Wow, must not be the Man in Brown because he simply rings once and jogs back to his UPS truck so quickly that I rarely even get to say hello! Oh, well, too bad - he's missing out on homemade cookies and bottled water that way!

So, I jog out to the door (why not, the UPS guy does it, but I'm much slower apparently) and cheerily open the door to... a young girl around 14 or 15, alone, dressed in sloppy shorts and a messy t-shirt - clutching an order form:

Swaying back and forth while clutching a crumpled form, she mumbles, "Um, hi. I'm a ( name of school not given to protect the identity of the school which I thought about contacting after this conversation ) HS cheerleader. You can buy xxxx for $10 or you can buy XXX for $18. What do you want?" Eye contact is never made with me, but she does glance ever-so-fleetingly at my child who is trying her best to say hello to the unresponsive girl on the step.

Yes, that was it! No introduction, no bouncy, cheery cheerleader-worthy "Hi, my name is Beth and I live in your neighborhood. I'm a high school cheerleader with _____ and I'm trying to raise money for _____." No details on what the fundraising was benefiting, no cheerleading outfit to identify her as an actual cheerleader, no pleasantries whatsoever.

She should not have been surprised that I politely said "no thank you". But, I think she was. She actually just mumbled, "Oh ok." as she swayed and disappeared onto the next house.

WHO IS TEACHING these young people how to canvas their own neighborhoods????? What adult is following this young child as she goes door-to-door with her sad and ill-conceived plea for funds? What happened to COACHING for a sale, not just the game winning point?

Door to door selling is about more than just which team member brings in the most money (usually from family and friends who feel sorry for your child because the door-to-door campaign was a bust - gee, I wonder why!).

It's about teaching our children the value of character, charm, charisma and caring. It's about teaching our children that above all, a pleasant introduction goes a long way towards building a RELATIONSHIP.

"Ding dong! Hi, my name is Emaleth. What's your name?"