Postmaster has tips for ensure December 25 delivery
Not only is it ?the most wonderful time of the year,? as the popular Christmas tune proclaims, but it?s also the busiest time of the year for the United States Postal Service.
As the days go by, and December 25 gets closer and closer, people are starting to arrive at post offices to get their packages to loved ones and friends.
At the Rogers City post office, the volume of mail has increased tremendously over the past couple of weeks, as customers look to take advantage of the lowest rates and get presents to their destinations before Christmas Day.
INTERIM POSTMASTER Rob Gross said 800 packages went through the Rogers City office last week and that number will continue to increase as the highest volume of packages is expected this Monday.
While it puts an extra load on mail carriers, who put in long hours and extended days, some find it a pleasurable experience.
?Actually in some ways I really enjoy it,? said Jean Alexander, who will be retiring next month after 30 years with USPS. ?We are very busy, but you are bringing joy. You are delivering gifts, you are delivering Christmas cards. I enjoy it as long as there isn?t a blizzard.?
Gross said local staff will be doing what they can to ensure delivery, ?giving 120 percent to get everything out? but there are some important procedures customers should follow that will make getting the packages delivered easier.
?Anything over a pound, you have to have eye to eye contact with a postal employee? before they will accept it, said Gross. ?You can?t just leave something in your mailbox assuming we are going to pick it up and take it. It doesn?t work that way anymore.?
ANY MARKINGS on boxes need to be covered or the boxes might not be accepted.
Gross recommended turning the box inside out and retaping it, so there?s nothing on the outside. The post office also has boxes for sale.
For those last minute shoppers, the closer to Christmas customers wait to bring in parcels, the more it?s going to cost.
?APO?s and FPO?s, mailing out to the military, you are going to have to up your rate right now,? said Gross.
Just mailing it parcel post at a more inexpensive rate won?t get the package there, he said.
Gross suggested either Global Priority or Global Express, but the pric
?IF YOU NEED it there, we?ll get it there, but you are going to pay to get it there, that?s what it boils down to,? Gross said.
For deliveries to Rogers City, in the days leading up to Christmas, packages will reach their destinations from outside of the state if mailed by Tuesday. For those instate, the latest will be Christmas Eve.
When the boxes arrive at homes, and nobody is home, they will not be left in the rain or snow. Instead, notes will be left behind or calls made to the customers to coordinate delivery, Gross said.
Packages also will be delivered on Christmas Day, Gross said, and some customers may be getting parcels delivered to them on Sundays