BOISE, Idaho — We are just a few days away from Christmas, and if you haven't placed those presents or holiday cards in the mail yet, you're probably wondering is it too late?
“There are just a few days before the holidays so if you haven’t put that package in the mail, put it in now and we'll do our best to get it there as quickly as we can and in one piece safe and sound and ready for your loved ones,” said Strategic Communication Specialist for the United States Postal Service, Floyd Wagoner.
He told KTVB, 2019 was a record-setting year for delivery companies, but this year COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges, making it busier than ever.
“And that's carried forward since the March-April time frame, and all the way through election season and all the way up through today for the holiday season and we're really seeing a situation where unprecedented levels of packages and holiday mail is traveling through our mail stream unlike ever before,” Wagoner said.
One of those challenges is staffing issues.
“Like anybody else the USPS has had its share of COVID cases, but we do have the ability to adjust our work force, our mail-processing environments and our transportation networks so we can move and quickly adapt to where the busy locations are in the nation that is, or locally,” Wagoner said.
He adds, they also brought in seasonal workers ahead of the holiday season.
“The funny thing here is that augmentation began in March and April with the onset of COVID-19,” Wagoner said. “So, we've just had to deploy some of our strategies much earlier in the year and that's helped us out a lot.”