Girl Scout cookie deliveries delayed

Springtime treats running late, but should arrive soon

A delivery delay of Girl Scout cookies has created a bit of local turmoil.

The 24 girls in Annette Thompson's Hollidaysburg Troop 48007 ordered 5,500 boxes of cookies that are now three weeks late -- with no definite arrival date set, Thompson said Tuesday.

But there is hope for local cookie cravers.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, all the cookies for Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania troops have arrived in the warehouse of the logistics firm GSWP uses, according to Lisa Shade, vice president of brand marketing and product program.

"We're getting them out as fast as we can," Shade said. "Delivery dates are being scheduled."

The logistics firm determines those schedules, according to Shade.

Customers are getting restive, and Thompson has had to reassure some of them to avoid having orders canceled, she said.

It's a big issue for the girls because the annual cookie sale provides about 80% of the troop's budget, financing activities and materials, Thompson said.

The boxes on order from Little Brownie Bakers in Louisville, Ky., should generate $6,500, helping for a planned trip to the birthplace of the Girl Scouts in Georgia for the oldest group in the troop, a trip to Washington, D.C., for the second oldest group and a trip to Pittsburgh's Children's Museum and Carnegie Science Center for the youngest groups, Thompson said.

Cookies are a big issue for customers too.

"People who are not aware don't understand how big," Thompson said. "It's like a cult following."

Two customers this year have ordered $60 worth, she said.

No one has ordered just one box, she said.

People who have placed orders don't forget about it, which means that when the cookies don't arrive, leaders like her feel the heat, she said.

"I'm getting a lot of backlash," she said. "Our cookie customers are die-hard."

Some Girl Scout groups in Western Pennsylvania have received their shipments, and some have not, according to Thompson.

That has led to troops with cookies setting up "booth sales" in the locals' territory about a week and a half ago, she said.

The GSWP put a stop to that, she said.

The troops order extra cookies for booth sales, beyond the boxes that customers pre-order.

Her troop's total order includes 2,000 boxes for booth sales in front of stores like Walmart, she said.

The late start almost guarantees that booth sales this year won't be as lucrative as they would have been otherwise, Thompson said.

Delays have occurred all over the country, according to Shade.

They've been caused by a combination of labor shortages and supply chain and transportation issues, said Shade.

Little Brownie Bakers is one of two companies licensed to bake Girl Scout cookies, along with ABC Bakers, Shade said.