It's crunch time at post offices

Post offices are almost as busy as the North Pole during the holiday season — and it's going to get more hectic as Christmas nears.

Monday, Dec. 20, is expected to be the busiest day of 2004 for the Salt Lake post office and most U.S. postal facilities. Post offices nationwide expect to handle 850 million pieces of mail on that day alone — about triple the usual amount.

"We have about a 20 to 25 percent increase in volume during the holiday season," said Brian Sperry, a regional spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Denver.

For the Salt Lake main post office, that means handling 4 million to 5 million letters and parcels between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nationally, it equals 20 billion pieces of mail.

Sperry said volumes are expected to run about the same as last year — near record levels. The biggest delivery day for post offices is expected to be Wednesday, Dec. 22.

"We handle a lot of mail," he said. "If you haven't mailed your holiday packages, mail them as soon as you can."

He said priority mail should be used now for all mailings, and express mail should be used beginning Thursday, Dec. 23.

While a typical package sender might spend 30 minutes to an hour in line at a post office these days, it doesn't need to be that way, Sperry said.

"Use 'click and ship' on the U.S. Postal Service Web site," he suggested.

There, customers can print all the labels necessary to mail a package and then request a free customer pick-up. It can save customers money (45 cents) as well as time. Weight scales can also be purchased online from the post office Web site. A scale is not needed if you use one of two priority-mail flat-rate boxes or labels, now available at post offices and on the Internet, at no charge.

"You never even have to leave home," Sperry said. "This is not your grandparents' post office."

Sperry said there are 31 automated postal centers in Utah that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These are similar to ATMs but do not charge extra fees.

Six Utah post offices (in West Valley City, Provo and Ogden) have extended their retail hours for Saturday to assist with holiday mailings.

Packages should be sealed with strong, reinforced packing tape. Paper or string should not be used on the outside of a package.