Will call refers to a method of delivery for purchased items where the customer picks up the items at the seller's place of business, primarily in North American commerce. It may also refer to the department within a business where goods are staged for customer pick up. An equivalent service for goods which are paid for in installments then retrieved once fully paid, which was common before

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

s became available, is called ''

layaway Layaway ('' lay-by'' in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa) is a purchase agreement in which the seller reserves an item for a consumer until the consumer completes all the payments necessary to pay for that item, and only then hands over the ...

'', and is still used among those without access to credit cards. The word "call" is a shortened form of "call for", which means "to come and get", so "will call" literally means "(the customer) will call for (come and get) the goods."New World Dictionary of the American Language, Simon and Schuster, 1980. In a linguistic process similar to initial-stress derived nominalization, the first syllable of the noun phrase is usually stressed ("''will'' call") rather than the second syllable in the verb phrase ("will ''call''"). The term is most commonly used in relation to admission tickets for events.

North America

Will Call windows - Washington Nationals Park - 2013-09-17

, Will Call is still in wide use for ticket sales at a box office where

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

s of entertainment venues go to pick up pre-purchased

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

s for an event, such as a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, sporting event, museums, or

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

, either just before the event or in advance. At large venues such as

stadiums A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

or theme parks, "Will Call" pickup windows may be designated specifically for this purpose. In the wholesale and retail trade industry, a will call memo is given to wholesale delivery drivers as an instruction to pick up items at the address stated on the memo.

Great Britain

Normally in the UK the term used is 'at the door' or 'on the door'; such as 'tickets can be collected at the door'. The acronym COBO, for "Care of Box Office", is used internally by ticket offices and not common with the public. A similar term 'buyer collects' is used on online auction sites, to imply that the customer must collect the goods from the vendor after sale, usually implying that they will not post. For goods purchased remotely and collected by the buyer, the usual term used is click and collect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Will Call Film box office Tickets Supply chain management

North America

Great Britain

See also

References