I write from the United States in South Carolina. Usually when I go to my local post office in December, it is crowded and there is always a long line – no matter what time of day I go. I was at my local post office 3 times in December, and it was not crowded – at all! There was only 1 or 2 people in line. I noted this and thought it quite strange! Where are the people mailing packages?
The one time, my husband dropped me off while he went to do another nearby errand, and I ended up “hanging out” at the post office for over 30 minutes. It remained not busy. (In my boredom I noted a plaque commemorating the building of this post office in 1969 when Richard Nixon was president!)
I just received a postal letter from a pen pal out west in the United States (Colorado) and she actually works for the post office in the back warehouse area – moving around packages, etc. She said her work has been extremely light this year, very few packages are being mailed. Often this time of year she works overtime, and no overtime has been needed. She wondered if the economy is causing people to not mail gifts? She was a bit worried about her job security.
I have no idea! I google searched for news about less mailed packages this year, and did not find anything. Anyone know what is going on? I know a couple of my readers follow postal news closely. Maybe people are not using the USPS, but direct mailing through amazon or using the UPS or FedEx instead? Maybe there is a revolt against the USPS?
If it was only myself that encountered the strangely not busy post office, I might think I just had good timing arriving at the post office when it was not busy. But when my pen pal in Colorado happened to mention how slow it was with her postal work – that made me wonder if there was a bigger pattern? Feel free to leave a comment if you have any news links or analysis!
Merry Christmas!