Long lines lasted all day at the South Denver Station post office, 225 S. Broadway, where 1,500 packages — twice the daily average — were sorted and delivered.
Monday was the busiest mailing day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service. FedEx delivery service predicted it would be its busiest day on record.
Nationwide, about 830 million pieces of mail entered the U.S. Postal Service system Monday, 40 percent higher than the average daily volume, the service said.
The average wait time at the South Denver Station was 10 to 15 minutes, manager Jason Tat said. The post office collected about 3,000 pieces of mail through the service desk and along the station’s 17 routes.
“This is kind of like our Black Friday,” Tat said. Additional employees were asked to work eight- to 10-hour shifts during the rush, Tat said.
Joe Padilla, a 30-year employee of the Postal Service, said the best way to survive the holiday season is having a positive outlook and a sense of humor. “When people ask me why it is so busy, I point to the calendar. ‘Tis the season,” Padilla said.
Most customers expect lines this time of year, so only a few cause a fuss, he said.
“If you don’t expect long lines, you’re not thinking about it,” said Denver resident Aaron Hanson, who waited 10 minutes to ship a package.
Padilla processed as many as 300 packages Monday. The Priority Mail flat-rate boxes are the most popular shipping method this year, he said.
Customers choose one of the three sizes available, pay a fixed rate, fill the box with up to 70 pounds and send it anywhere in the U.S. or to an overseas military location.
Revenue generated from the holiday rush is higher than any other time of the year.
FedEx predicted a record revenue boom Monday, processing more than 13 million packages, spokesman Matt Ceniceros said. The company’s daily average is 7.5 million packages.
Internet shoppers who use FedEx to ship their purchases and companies who offer FedEx’s services exclusively account for the spike in deliveries.
“It all combined in a perfect storm to create a record,” Ceniceros said.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1638 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
