WILL-CALL (source: http://fieldnotesbrand.com/)

Oh boy! It is official! Pirates lose every time I go to the ballpark to watch a game. Yesterday, I went to the PNC Park with my friends and Jessy. They won two previous games but they lost yesterday when Jessy and I were there. But, I will support the Pirates no matter what because I am not a fair weather fan.

Knowing that my friends are visiting and they want to see a MLB game, I bought tickets online. As I was filling the required information out, I noticed that  there was only one option for the delivery type and it was “WILL-CALL.”  (I believe there should be a lot more options but all the other options were not available because I only had two more days to the game.)

When I first saw this “WILL-CALL,” I thought they WILL CALL me to discuss how they are going to deliver the tickets. Thus, I decided to wait for one day. Nothing happened. Well, I gotta do something to make sure that I get the tickets before the game. So, I called the Pirates’ customer service, asking this simple question, “What does this WILL-CALL  mean as the delivery type?”

My initial guess was totally off. However, it is not too far off according to its origin or history. Here is the history of the expression I got from Wikipedia.

In the days before the telephone, the phrase “I will call on you” was commonly used to mean that someone will visit you, or speak to you. The phrase has since largely fallen into disuse, with the word “call” being much more commonly associated with the telephone than speaking to someone in person. The term “will call”, however, has stuck, and means that the customer “will call on” the company to pick up the tickets or merchandise, as opposed to having the items delivered to them.

Even with this origin, the real meaning as of now is the box office that customers pick up their pre-purchased tickets. It does not even mean that the customer WILL CALL the box office. Instead, it means the physical box office. Oh, well, I actually did call.

So, one advice, if you hear or see “WILL-CALL” in the context of purchasing tickets, that does not mean you call someone or they will call you. It just means the box office or you need to pick up your tickets from the box-office.

Good luck with your shopping!