With just days before the holiday rush begins, preparations are underway from the loading dock to sorting machines inside a massive USPS facility in Stamford.
“This is the most exciting time of the year for us. This is our Super Bowl,” said Jeffrey Salamon, plant manager.
Salamon gave NBC Connecticut a behind the scenes tour of the processing and distribution center, which handles more than 150,000 packages each day. During the holiday rush, the center said it handles up over 200,000 packages a day.
“We’re ready to go here and very confident that we’re going to be able to deliver the service to the American public this year with no problems, no delays,” said Salamon.
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That promising news comes after the Postmaster General recently admitted they were overwhelmed last year.
Among those who rely on the Post Office for shipping is Nafeesah Bullock in Waterbury.
“You got to be patient,” said Bullock.
In Stamford, some 340 workers are helping to keep things moving 24 hours a day.
And in the next week or two things really pick up. The holiday rush starts around November 26 and goes through December 24.
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“We hired over 40,000 pre-career employees throughout the country and we ramped up the hiring late summer to get ready for peak season,” said Salamon.
They’ve also recently launched a new system to handle up to 8,000 large packages a day.
But as fast as they can go, a lot is still up to you to make sure things arrive on time.
“We always recommend to shop and ship early,” said Amy Gibbs, USPS spokesperson.
Besides USPS, FedEx and UPS have released their deadlines for holiday deliveries.
