Pocatello post office will see thousands of packages for busiest day of the year
Monday marks the busiest day of the year for post offices across the nation.
Monday is the last day to mail packages through standard mail and have them arrive in time for Christmas. With so much mail coming in, the regional mail processing plant in Pocatello will be even busier.
The Pocatello mail plant gathers and sorts mail from all over Southeastern Idaho. Earl Jensen, the plant manager, said they take mail from Island Park down to Preston. So that means package after package will pour into the warehouse on Monday.
Jensen said the post office expects to see 20,000 packages on Monday, which is a 15 percent increase from the same time last year. It also expects about 300,000 letters, including Christmas cards.
To handle the holiday load, the plant hired 20 extra people. Along with the post office’s regular staff, all employees are working longer shifts to make sure holiday packages arrive on time.
“My regular employees are working 12-hour days,” Jensen said. “Most of them are working at least 60 hours a week. And then we have the extra hires that will be brought in and they’re working anywhere from 40 to 50 hours a week so it’s a big change.”
Jensen said employees who normally start their shift at 4 p.m. or even 6 p.m. were coming in at 1 p.m. on Monday to begin the sorting process.
Jensen said post offices are doing everything they can to get people through the lines quickly. The post office on Clark Street seemed to be doing really well. They had an extra clerk up front than the other Pocatello post offices were able to and it seemed to help keep the line moving quickly. While lines were still consistently long, patrons seemed to have about the half the wait time of the other post offices.
Kaitlyn Saldate frequents the Clark Street post office and she said she was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she got her package sent off. She said she was happy to see more clerks than usual.
“Honestly I didn’t end up waiting any longer than I normally would at a post office since they had more people working,” she said. “The line does look scary coming in but I was probably in and out in ten minutes or less.”
The post office wants to remind people to double check the address the package is going to. Also make sure packages are taped securely, but not wrapped in wrapping paper. Those are a couple of the most common mistakes that cause delays in shipping, according to usps.com.
Jensen said people can also prep their packages online at usps.com.
Jensen said the post office will be delivering special express, or premium, packages on Christmas Sunday. No other mail will be delivered, just the special express. But Jensen said that option would be costly so he recommends getting packages in as soon as possible. The post office encourages people to have their letters and packages in by Wednesday, even with express, to allow plenty of time.
