HARTFORD, Conn. — The United States Postal Service (USPS) is preparing for a busy holiday season after an increase in demand last year because of the pandemic.
They're expecting this year to be just as busy, and now they're asking customers to get their shipments out early.
"Last year was so crazy. My grandkids didn’t get stuff until after the holidays," said Carmen Gomez, who lives in Hartford.
This time around, Gomez has learned to order everything ahead of time.
"Might as well just send it out early. July if you can, the earliest," Gomez said.
Gomez may be ambitious with her time frame, but the deadlines customers must meet for USPS do come in December.
"The two weeks before Christmas, I can tell you, are the busiest. So if you wait until crunch time, we really don’t recommend that," said Amy Gibbs, Strategic Communications Specialist for USPS.
For USPS, customers must meet the following deadlines:
• Dec. 17 — First-Class Mail service (including greeting cards)
• Dec. 17 — First-class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
• Dec. 18 — Priority Mail service
• Dec. 23 — Priority Mail Express* service
"We’re still in pandemic mode. This year we are adding a lot of people to our staff," Gibbs said.
To keep up with the demand, USPS is hiring 40,000 seasonal workers across the country. They've also added more than 100 sorting machines to get things out quicker and hundreds of annex's to make room for trucks.
This, as they deal with the same supply shortages others are seeing across the country.
"Everything is impacted for us, right? Flights, boats, trucks, gas, I mean we’re part of a huge shipping industry. So all these different variables are going to impact us," Gibbs said. "So what we’ve done on our end is really prepare for all of these variables within our scope.”
A spokesperson for USPS offered the following advice for customers in a press release:
• Use free Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes. They are available at local Post Office locations or online
• Use Click-N-Ship. You can create shipping labels and pay for postage online
• Schedule a free Package Pickup when the carrier delivers your mail.
• Mail and packages that weigh more than 10 ounces and/or are more than a half-inch thick using stamps as postage cannot be dropped into a collection box or left for a carrier to pick up. Instead, take them to a window clerk at a Post Office.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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