For The Postal Service, It’s The Busiest Time Of The Year
Dec 18, 2018, 5:21 PM | Updated: Dec 19, 2018, 12:47 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The job is still basically the same.
But it sure is different this time of year.
Jeff Burns doesn’t need a calendar to tell you we’re pretty close to Christmas.
“I mean, the back of my truc
k is still full of packages,” said Burns, while filling his mail bag with envelopes.
Burns is a Salt Lake City-based mailman who says Christmas time is busy time.
Unlike Santa Claus, who only delivers once a year, Burns says he’s on the road every day.
Only, lately, that day is longer.
“It takes a little bit more each day,” he said with a laugh. “Our mail volume is definitely up this time of year with Christmas, Christmas letters, Christmas cards, and packages for sure.”
However, for as busy as he is this time of year, there is a place besides the North Pole, where there is non-stop noise.
“We have three different shifts that are constantly running,” said Troy Larson.
Larson works at the Salt Lake City mail sorting facility, where close to half a million letters and packages are pushed through every day this time of year.
“It’s one of those times where it’s hard on our mechanics because they don’t get time to actually work on the machines because they’re never shutting down,” said Larson.
The postal service no longer has a traditional “busiest day.”
Instead, they have a busiest two weeks.
Larson and his co-workers are in the middle of it all right now.
“This has been one of the busiest years we’ve ever had,” he said. “We actually set up a whole other facility where they bring in a lot of Christmas help.”
To deal with extra work load, and to try and make sure the mail gets delivered quickly, the Postal Service has hired roughly 400 extra elves to help during the Christmas season in Salt Lake City.
Even though eight reindeer, and Rudolph, are probably enough, mail carriers want to make sure the mail gets to people in time.
After all, Christmas is the 25th. Not the 26th.
“It’s a good, satisfying feeling when you see all the packages get cleared out,” said Larson.
The Postal Service says Thursday, Dec. 20, is the deadline for first class and priority mail to be delivered by Christmas.
