NICE >> Thirteen-year-old Brandi Rivera wants to be a dentist when she gets older.
Last weekend she was busy lining up future clients, selling sweet and sugary — but oh so delicious — Girl Scout Cookies at two locations in opposite ends of the county.
Coincidence or devious plan? Rivera answers with a laugh and nothing more.
Regardless of motives, Girl Scout cookie sales are underway in Lake County and in addition to teaching the young women practical lessons in business and economics, the sales also bring a reward: a trip to Disneyland in June to those who each sell at least $1,200 worth of cookies, which is 240 boxes.
“I think they are on track to reach their goals,” said Clearlake Oaks resident Jennifer Souza, who holds an important leadership position in the Girl Scouts: parent.
The scouts are from Troop 10686 that meets in Hidden Valley Lake. It’s the only troop in the county for girls in the sixth through ninth grades. Saturday they were at Sentry Market in Nice and Sunday at Safeway in Clearlake.
For cookie rookie Karley Viellette, 12, selling cookies is, “Harder than I thought,” adding, “Dealing with people is the hardest.”
Viellette has been in the Girl Scouts of America for about a month. Saturday was her first day ever of selling Girl Scout Cookies, which she said is giving her experience in operating a business.
“I joined the Girl Scouts because I thought it would be fun,” she said. “It is.”
The annual cookie sales, so popular even the Cookie Monster can’t stop them, are a first for the three scouts from Troop 10686.
“I’m normally not this excited about things but today I’m very excited about this,” said Rivera, a Girl Scout for nearly two years. ”It’s going great.”
She also said it’s good business experience and has a tip for others interested in retail baked goods sales. “The happier you look, the more people are attracted to the cookies.”
The three scouts didn’t have a problem looking happy — genuinely happy — on Saturday. It was a bright, sunny day, one of the warmest so far this winter, a perfect day for potentials customers to be out and about.
Maria Nevills, 13, has been a Girl Scout for nearly a year so this was her first cookie sale. “It’s going really well,” she said. “I’m learning to interact with customers and to handle money.”
Nevills said that most customers already know what kind of cookie they are looking for, with the long-running chocolate-covered Thin Mints the biggest seller, nationally and locally. She added that the most popular cookie among senior citizens locally is the shortbread-like Trefoils, a staple of Girl Scout Cookies for years.
However, there is the occasional customer who is cranky — usually because the scouts are out of the person’s favorite cookie — that the scouts are learning to deal with. “I haven’t had any so far but if I did I would apologize and try to show them something similar,” Rivera said.
Her inexperience in dealing with unhappy customers may end soon, though, as the scouts said they expected to run out of Thin Mints before the close of business. After the first hour of business on Saturday, the Scouts had sold 32 boxes at $5 each.
The Girl Scouts are encouraged to tell people who ask which cookie is best or their favorite that they all are very good and the three local scouts did just that Saturday. However, several customers eagerly announced their favorites.
“I just like the Samoas,” said Rick Cole of Lakeport. “I try to buy some every year.”
Other customer picks were Rah Rah Raisins, Trefoils and, of course, Thin Mints.
Souza said the annual cookie sale teaches the scouts financial literacy and experience in sales as well builds self-confidence through dealing with customers.
“This is really nice,” she said Saturday. “When I was a Girl Scout, there were no booths, we only sold cookies door-to-door.”
This year’s cookie lineup is: Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Trefoils, Do-si-Dos, Savannah Smiles, Rah-Rah Raisins and Toffee-tastic. All cookies are $5 per box, with the exception of gluten-free Toffee-tastic, which is $6 per box. With each box sold, $3.95 goes to fund Girl Scouts initiatives throughout the year, including service projects, camp, STEM education programs and outdoor excursions, which for Troop 10686 is Disneyland.
Cookie sales started nationwide on Feb. 1 and go through March 13. Troop 10686 again will be at the Sentry Market in Nice on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. (or the cookies sell out) and the Clearlake Safeway from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. In Lakeport the scouts set up a booth at Safeway.
