This paper deals with the organizational and social world of toll-coll
ectors. We will focus upon the formal and informal structure of a grou
p of toll-collectors who work together in closely confined quarters do
ing seemingly routine jobs. However, they are handling a wide variety
of social situations both with the public, and each other. We find tha
t what appears to be routine is not, and instead, generates a number o
f special problems and organizational solutions.Social Logics analysis
is used as an analytical device through out the paper. Social logics
are clusters or (sets) of consistent rules or behaviors. In ongoing in
teraction they are sequenced often one after another, or as in this st
udy provide organizational logics as a backdrop against which interact
ion is played out. In this case major organizational logics are bureau
cratic and mechanical. The social logics are often played against each
other as in the comic-degradation combination found here. These syste
ms of logic rules or behaviors appear to be cross-cultural and sociobi
ological, suppressed or enhanced according to each individual subcultu
re (Parker, 1992). Also of interest here is the applicability of this
logics analysis to more ordinary concepts such as status anxiety, terr
itoriality and occupation (Blau, 1964).