With the Christmas season drawing to a close, local postal
workers are looking forward to some much needed relaxation from the
frenzied pace of the last few weeks.
Residents have been sending hundreds of packages a day between
several mailing services in the city, but it’s not over yet, said
Amy Holloway, a supervisor at the Hollister Post Office.
”
Boy am I tired,
”
she said.
”
Catalogs and advertisements have really slowed down, but what’s
picked up is first class mail and parcels.
”
With the Christmas season drawing to a close, local postal workers are looking forward to some much needed relaxation from the frenzied pace of the last few weeks.
Residents have been sending hundreds of packages a day between several mailing services in the city, but it’s not over yet, said Amy Holloway, a supervisor at the Hollister Post Office.
“Boy am I tired,” she said. “Catalogs and advertisements have really slowed down, but what’s picked up is first class mail and parcels.”
For anyone hoping to mail a package and have it delivered to the recipient by Christmas, the only service the post office guarantees at this point is express delivery, which is generally overnight service, Holloway said.
Even waiting until Tuesday is a gamble because many unforeseeable events can delay the mail, such as weather, which would mean the package would be received the day after Christmas because most post offices don’t deliver on Christmas Day.
If the package is being sent to a destination where the post office does deliver on Christmas day, the employees at the post office can inform the customer of this if they inquire about it, she said.
“It all depends on where it’s going,” Holloway said.
The longest it takes a package sent express delivery is two days, but there’s no guarantee with mail that is being sent overseas, she said.
“The worst thing that’s happened is the flu,” Holloway said. “(Last) Wednesday we had six people call in sick, but when it’s the type of work that has to be done, we can’t just wait until tomorrow to do it. Everybody has been working a lot of overtime.”
The depletion of personnel has caused some people to receive their mail as late as 8 p.m., but because the post office has a policy that they don’t hold any mail back, even if it’s late it will still get there, she said.
Packages sent as late as the 23rd may be received before Christmas, but customers will be paying steep fees to make it happen, said Noe Velasco, assistant manager at Post Net.
“Overnight Federal Express is 97-percent guaranteed, but depending on the weight and size, it can cost anywhere from $17 and up,” Velasco said. “One woman sent a (large) box to Alaska and paid about $160 just for shipping.”
Anyone who is still trying to ship something to a friend or family member also must remember to package it correctly, because if it is damaged before it arrives it won’t matter if they got it before Christmas or not, said Gary Mangus, owner of The UPS Store.
“Pick it up,” Mangus said. “If it shakes and rattles, it’s not packaged well. Also, check that the seams are taped and it’s a good box.”
If a box comes in that is incorrectly packaged, Mangus and his team will ask if they can open the box and re-package it by adding Styrofoam peanuts or re-taping the box, he said.
Mangus expects that the store will be very busy Monday and then taper off by Tuesday. Any packages sent on Wednesday most likely will not be received by Christmas.
