Why are postal queue lines longer than normal after Christmas? They don’t seem to return to normal until Spring.
I was in a post office yesterday morning. Some of the people in line were there to pick up their mail after a vacation hold. Others had boxes, which might have been product returns. I was in line to buy a money order so I could get a visa.
Basically, either extra mail resulting from the holidays, or mail that was put off to avoid the holiday rush. Examples (including those already given):
[ul][li]People who were on vacation over the holidays picking up their held mail.[/li][li]People returning holiday gifts that don’t fit/don’t work/they don’t like.[/li][li]People sending belated Xmas cards to people who sent them one.[/li][li]Many organizations send out annual membership mailings now, having avoided that during the holidays because people are too busy to respond then.[/li][li]In the USA, stamp prices are going up soon. So many people are there to stock up on stamps before the price increase.[/li][/ul]
Another possibility… I suspect that the holiday period is “all hands on deck” time for the postal workers, so vacation time is probably disallowed or discouraged for the strech between Thanksgiving and New Years. After New Years probably a lot of the workers take off, leaving the facilities relatively short-staffed. That translates into long lines.
Also, if the post office is closed on a Monday, all the people who would have normally done their business on Monday now have to do it on Tuesday, in addition to the people who would normally do it on Tuesday. Plus for major holidays like Christmas, probably a lot of people postpone their non-Christmas business until after Christmas, in an attempt to avoid the lines.
I’m thinking that since on-line shopping is at an all time high and Christmas is over everyone is using the same return counter.
Those are all very good explanations for the week or so after after Christmas, but the lines don’t seem to return to normal here until Spring. When it’s February and the lines are still longer than average, I just have to wonder what’s going on. So I guess I’m comparing February lines to April through September lines. I’ll monitor the February lines this year to see if my memory is not mistaken.
The lines are long after the holidays because there are still people in line that took their spot before the holidays.
My brother works for the Post Office. Delivery is always the hardest on Monday for the simple reason that the previous day off (Sunday) just means that a day’s worth of mail has gone unprocessed and must get caught up (IOW the Postal Service stops but the rest of the world doesn’t really). If a holiday falls on a Monday that means two unprocessed days in a row and things are even worse. Last year both Christmas & New Years were on a Sunday meaning there were two weeks in a row both with two days off (in a row)!
Does OP have any factual basis to support the claim about lines not returning to normal until spring?
Certainly there will be a rush after Christmas and New Year’s-- People need money orders for rent and have to go to their mail box to collect their Social Security/pension check.
I go to the post office 6 days a week because of my business. My perception is that lines have already returned to “normal,” if there is such a thing.
Rest assured the post office hires seasonal workers to meet demand, they know their business flow better than anyone posting on this board.