So here’s the deal. I wanted to send an e-mail and include a link to a page describing the cookies — that’s it, just the cookies. Here is what I found (or didn’t find):
- The Girl Scouts site has a page on Girl Scout cookies. The page makes a nice pitch for the program, but there wasn’t any information on the cookies! I just wanted to know if there were any new cookies this year and make sure my favorites are still being made! At the bottom of the page is a link that simply says Cookies. Turns out that this link goes to an FAQ page but the link doesn’t tell you that. The FAQ page is full of helpful information, almost too much information, but still nothing about this year’s cookies!
- The Girl Scout Cookie site, as far as I can tell, only lets you enter your contact information so that it can be passed to a council in your area.
- God bless Google for leading me to Meet the Cookies, which describes the 2009 cookies — finally! After visiting the Girl Scout Cookies site several times, I finally figure out that there is a link to Meet the Cookies in teeny text in the top left corner. The page opens in a pop-up window so I can’t print the info; yeah, I can get around that, but a less Web-savvy person might not know how.
- Tell a Friend on the Girl Scout Cookies site doesn’t let me add a personal message.
It seems to me that the Girl Scouts Cookie site is stuck in the traditional model of selling cookies through your neighborhood Girl Scout, with all information coming from sweet Suzie Girl Scout. But seriously, isn’t every mom and dad of a Girl Scout sending out e-mails to family and friends asking them to buy cookies? If the Girl Scouts were smart, they would create a page just for those of us who want to use the Web and e-mail to market the cookies! Heck, why can’t I order online? It’s 2009!
Okay, enough hammering on the Girl Scouts, who do a good job for millions of girls, after all. Oh, and by the way, if you want to order Girl Scout cookies this year, my niece will gladly take your order. Just send me an e-mail (jpineda-at-matrixgroup dot net) with what you want and how to get in touch with you. Take your pick from this page: Meet the Cookies. My favorites are Tagalongs, Samoas and Thin Mints. I’ve ordered some Dulce de Leche cookies, which are new this year, for good measure. Cookies start arriving in January. Yum!
3 replies on “Girl Scouts, Please Make it Easy to Find Information About the Cookies!”
fyi, gscookies are made by…
littlebrowniebakers DOT com
and
abcsmartcookies DOT com
Joanna, I was an assistant Cookie Mom this year and even more appalling is that the Girl Scouts organization ACTIVELY PROHIBITS girls or parents from selling using the web. Even e-mail is forbidden! Of course, this is crazy and retrograde–and no doubt ignored by many. But the problems you encountered trying to find simple information are only the tip of the iceberg.
E-mail was forbidden this year? Oh no! I sent an e-mail to a group of my friends and other moms in the neighborhood. Oh well. Nobody told me I couldn’t help my niece by selling cookies via e-mail. She made her goal, exceeded it actually. Not allowing marketing via e-mail is just plain wrong!