During the peak holiday season, postmaster Nicole West said up to 20,000 packages can be processed each day at the East Empire Street location. Last year, when this work was done by hand, it could take workers until the mid-afternoon to get everything sorted by route ahead of delivery.
“Last year, we had to do second trips because the packages weren’t done and we were just so overwhelmed with the volume of people ordering online,” West, who’s been postmaster for five years, said.
And that’s really the biggest thing that has changed the business of delivering mail, according to both West and Kemp: Online shopping and the packages that follow it.
“The volume is horrendous — this is the second year we’ve seen the volume increase,” Kemp said. “It’s partly due to COIVD. And it’s convenient.”
But the convenience of online shopping depends on which perspective you have: As the package recipient, it is, certainly, handy. The person delivering the packages — depending on what they are — may have a different experience.