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Alphonso Clark Jr. (left) gets some help from Pat Craig of Mail Boxes Etc. in Spotsylvania with Christmas packages to be sent to his grandsons and daughter in Ohio.
Dawn Grosser helps customers at Mail Boxes Etc. with mailing their Christmas packages yesterday.
Courtney McDonald sends Christmas packages to Chicago yesterday morning from the Mail Boxes Etc. store in Spotsylvania. Barbara McCormick (right) waits on her. |
Going to the post office Monday?
So are hundreds of other people in the Fredericksburg area.
Monday is expected to be the Postal Service's biggest shipping day of the year. It's the last day people can mail packages first class and stand a good chance of getting them there by Christmas.
Holiday packages could still arrive in time if mailed after Monday.
But as Christmas gets closer, the chances get slimmer--and the cost gets heftier.
"Every day you wait is a day you have less chance of getting it there by Christmas," said Pat Craig, owner of Mailboxes Etc. in Fredericksburg and Stafford.
Ivey Green, postmaster at Fredericksburg's main post office, said anything mailed Monday or later has an 85 percent to 90 percent chance of reaching its destination in time for Christmas. But customers should keep in mind that the postal system and delivery companies are much more overwhelmed than usual.
"There is a lot going into the system and a lot pouring out," said Diana Hatcher, spokeswoman for UPS.
UPS and other delivery companies expect to deliver as many as 20 million packages on Tuesday alone--their busiest day. The Postal Service expects to deliver 20 billion packages by the time the holiday season is done, according to its Web site.
That volume is why Green warns that it may already be too late to trust Christmas packages to first-class mail. Customers are probably better off sending them priority or express starting Monday, unless they are mailing cards or something small.
The Postal Service's priority mail is a two- to three-day service. Express is typically overnight, depending on the destination. Those options cost more than first class.
Mail-service providers expect Monday to bring the longest lines yet to teller windows. But many are hoping customers will take advantage of longer hours this weekend.
Some stores, such as Mail Boxes Etc., have been open on Sundays for several weeks to encourage people to mail packages sooner.
"Mail doesn't move on Sunday, but people can come in on Sunday and go back to work on Monday knowing it has been taken off their worry list," Craig said.
Lines were out the door at Mail Boxes Etc. last week. And Craig doesn't expect the crowds to diminish this coming week.
Those who have to mail packages Monday, she said, should come first thing in the morning or later in the evening.
"If you come at lunch time, you'll stand with the huddled masses," she said.
Customers can also avoid teller window lines by using automated postal centers, which accept credit and debit cards, at the main post offices in Fredericksburg and Stafford. Lines at the machines have been only two to three deep so far, Green said.
The automated postal centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Many mail-service providers, such as UPS, are also offering online programs that allow customers to create a shipping order, print a label and take it to a drop box.
Some even offer online services where people can track their packages as they travel to their destination. Craig says that's the best thing to do, especially when people are in a hurry to get their gifts delivered.
To reach MEGHANN COTTER: 540/374-5434 mcotter@freelancestar.com
