Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1905-01-06
BOX o. i CsE e RI CKS.

BIN V y Z \ ID ! III KS.
The BERTH OF THEATER lckET
SELLER is NoTA slNEcURE.
Why the Nan who sits Remind the
Wicket ngnat BE rs Good Judge OF
Human Nature--The Art o. .sDreas-
Ing q Light House.
To the average theater goer the man
who sits behind the wicket In the box
office and sells tickets seems to have
one Of the sinecuress Of earth. True, he
I has to answer many fool questions and
deal with many fool persons who are
often ugly because others with more
foresight have picked up early all the
good seats. He has to handle dipIo-
matically the woman who wants dollar
seats for rs cents and with the other
fellow who wants first row, CENTER
after the play has begun and that has
been sold FOR a week ahead. But all
these things seem but his share Of the
minor ills Of earth. Outside Of them
apparently his Job is what is generally.
known as SNAP
other things to do besides sell tickets.
True, that is where hes comes In cons
tact with the general public, and that
is all that is usually thought about his
duties. But at the same time he is
serving the public he Is working for
two masters behind the scenes, the
proprietor OF the house and the mana
ger of the attraction, and he must
serve them equally, while their inter-
ests sometimes conflict sharply Fur
thermore, he must serve them as
against the public If need there be, and
1t keeps him hustling to hold his job
to do 1t too. ~. # s us
The man behind the wicket Is good
man IL he can make you buy a seat
that costs you more than you intended
to invest to see that particular eshoW"
AL attractions in playhouse are
shows" in the parlance, be they opera,
comedy or vaudeville. Now, most men
think they know. what they are going.
to get when they visit theater, and
they especially have the price fixed in
their minds. Perhaps, psychology
speaking, they are stronger minded
than the house treasurer. Then they
do get what they want, and he never
questions Il. But the average man Is
not. The treasurer is trained In ticket
selling It is his daily routine, while
it is an occasional act on the mans
part. Hence he is fortified for the pub
lie, and the latter is not for him. and
SO when the people step up, especially
IL 1t is rather late and there is some
thing Of a rush, a clever ticket man
can easily get the extra price out OF
them for a higher selling seat.
How does he do II? Largely by the
power Of suggestion. He implies that
you want it, for instance, when you go
up. In other words, he puts the ques-
ton as to what priced seat by asking
you about the higher ones before he
mentions the lower ones, and when he
does refer to the latter, at your sugges-
ton, he does it rather ologetica1iy.
He has the higher rate tickets In his
hand, and If you do not take them he
reaches to the rack for the others. and
all the time the line is waiting, those
back Of you are scoWling. IL not maxi
ing remarks. and every one within ear
shot of the window knows that you
have refused the higher seats for the
lower priced ones. This Is embarrass-
ing. Especially is It so IL a girl Is with
You, waiting just outside the rail that
separates the mob from the line, and
the chances are 10 to i that You win
take the cue, involuntarily, and pay
quarter more, when you had no tnfen-
tion Of doing SO when you approached
the clever man in the box.
That is one way. It doesn't require
any falsehood. It does require a good
knowledge Of human nature. Some men
wouldn't stand for that. They would
be offended, and 1t might hurt the
house. That is for the treasurer ia
beware. He must size up his Gus
toners and act accordingly.
II There Is a great gain In time In sell.
Ing without a chart. A man will then
step up and ask for good seat
about q certain place. ~ Running
through his lists. the seller finds him
something very near there. and he lis
satisfied. That one man lis finished In
a few seconds. It would take minutes
IL the sheets were there. Time ID I'M
pertant when the orchestra is playing
and the curtain about to go up.
Still further, the absence Of chart
enables the seller to dress, his house:
provided the sale is light and to keep
out tsingles" IL 1t Isl heavy. Singles
are seats left alone when the 3adj joining
pairs have been selected from a chart.
Singles" are hard to sell because very
few persons attend d theater alone. Az
most all seats are sold in pairs. Az
treasurer with bunch Of singles, on
his hands, even with a house threaten
ing to sell out, Is .up against Il, Tor
often he will lose sales that would
have meant pov,o s,,y% t1S,,. ~ -