Wow - a lot of people certainly are getting worked up over this. And there's no reason to.
1) As already pointed out, a house seat is not a comp. It's a ticket request form that industry people involved with the show (actors, producers, tech, etc) can fill out and submit to the box office. I believe the rule is that they are notified two hours prior to curtain if they were able to fulfill the request or not.
2) I don't think it's impolite at all to ask the favor. There are genuine nice people out there. tinymagic, you seemed like one of those people when I met you in person, but gee, what a f***ing facade!
3) As for purchasing my ticket a while ago, that wasn't an option for me as I didn't know I was going to New York until a few days ago. I was planning on going to the box office to purchase my ticket two hours prior to showtime to grab released premium seats, but there is a chance I will not make it to the theatre until curtain time, hence why I'm seeing if there is a do-gooder out there who would like to pay it forward and fill out a house seat form for me.
Now everyone go take your chill pills.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle