Post office workers staying busy
By Sandy Morris
The Christmas season is typically an extremely busy time of year for the United States Postal Service, and this year already promises to be busier than previous years.
The Albany Post Office already is handling an increased volume of packages, and they need for customers to continue to pick them up in a timely manner.
“We are already having between 400-500 packages come through here each day,” said local postmaster Laura Gilbreath on Monday. “There has been such an increase in online shopping because nobody wants to get out and go to the stores this year.”
Gilbreath states that she can’t stress enough the need to pick up packages in a timely fashion.
“We just don’t have the space to store all of the packages we are receiving on a daily basis,” said Gilbreath.
The Albany Post Office will maintain regular hours until Christmas Eve,when they will close at noon. Gilbreath said someone will remain at the post office until 4:00 p.m. that day and customers can knock on the door if they have a package to pick up.
“We will stay open during our normal lunch hour on Thursday, Dec. 24,” said Gilbreath. “We will then close for the holiday. The mail route will be run on Christmas Eve.”
The post office will be closed in observance of Christmas Day.
For customers needing to mail presents via USPS retail ground to the contiguous U.S. they should ship packages by Dec. 14 in order to arrive by Dec. 25, according to the postal service, while first class items to locations in the United States should arrive by Christmas if they are mailed by Dec. 20.
After Dec. 20, they should be sent Priority Mail Express.
The post office will be on a normal schedule through Saturday, Dec. 19, and the staff will post mail on Saturday morning as usual, although the window will not be open.
Amazon packages are delivered to the Albany post office on Sunday.
“If there are lockers available, we will put those packages in the lockers,” said Gilbreath. “Or, if you know that your package has arrived in Albany, you can knock on the door while we are there, even if the office is not open, and we will try and help you.”
Gilbreath said that available lockers are used as much as possible for packages, but some deliveries are too large, and sometimes lockers are already in use and not available.
“If customers are expecting packages on Saturday, or even on Sunday, and there’s not a locker key in their box, they can knock on the door and if we are there, someone will be able to help them,” said Gilbreath.
Typically the postal workers leave by 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays and are only there from 7:45 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings.
The same type of schedule will be observed for New Year’s.
Regular weekday hours at the Albany office are 8:00 to 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 to 4:00 p.m., with the window closed from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for lunch. The lobby area with boxes and lockers stays open around the clock.
