But did she tip the deliveryman?Danielle Fairlee...

But did she tip the deliveryman?

Danielle Fairlee was in a long, slow-moving line at a Koo Koo Roo eatery in Studio City when an impatient woman nearby whipped out her cellular phone.

The woman asked a passing employee the number of the place, then phoned in her order from line. (As anyone who’s ever waited in line for service knows, it’s apparently a law of nature that clerks always give priority to people who phone.)

“She was talking to the guy at the counter and we could hear him asking her, ‘What size drink do you want?’ ” Fairlee reported.

The strategy worked. “She got her order ahead of us and she was behind us in line,” Fairlee said. “Some people were annoyed but we thought it was pretty funny.”

Besides, Fairlee’s husband, Brian, pointed out that the caller was only heeding a sign in the eatery:

“Save time--phone in your order.”

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HONEY OF A MISCUE: Eastern newspapers seem to have trouble with geographical names in Southern California, usually the Spanish names. But Wayne Slavitt of Long Beach noticed an apparent transcription boo-boo in a Wall Street Journal article that mentioned Honeyton Beach High (see excerpt). You know it better as Huntington Beach High.

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HOW UNSPORTSMANLIKE: Sure, it’s not one of the major sports. But we don’t see why handball should be singled out for a ban at one market in Culver City. The photo was snapped by Joe Connolly of L.A.

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RAIDERS OF THE LOST REVENUE: There are problems in Raider land, which probably won’t upset Angelenos who supported the former L.A. team. Preseason ticket sales are far lower than expected in Oakland because fans aren’t willing to fork over thousands of dollars for personal seat licenses--which only entitle them to shell out thousands of additional dollars for season tickets.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently published the “Top Five Ways to Improve Raider Ticket Sales,” as suggested by Bay Area disc jockey Buddy Baron:

5. If you get a personal seat license, you can bring your favorite chair from home.

4. Raiderettes start lap dancing.

3. No visitors’ bench; opposing team sprinkled throughout the stands.

2. Beer vendors can’t just serve the beer, they must be willing to listen to your golf stories.

1. Halftime show: Hungry lions versus the guy who dreamed up personal seat licenses.

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CHINA GOES POSTAL: Some representatives from China recently visited Southern California to study the U.S. Postal Service’s technology. No, not so they could avoid duplicating it.

Six Shanghai Post and Telecommunications technicians actually took four letter-sorting machines home, two from San Diego and two from Los Angeles.

So, if you receive a years-late letter from Sioux City with a Shanghai postmark, you’ll know what happened.

We’re only kidding, of course. The Postal Service does a great job. Still, we remember that Groucho Marx joke about a strike by postal workers. He proposed that they be granted their pay increases--by mail.

miscelLAny:

Screenwriter Bruce Wagner has written a novel about Hollywood called “I’m Losing You.” The title refers to the oft-heard remark of a cell phone-user who is losing contact--be it with the spouse, the boss or the fast-food counterman standing a few feet away.