1 week Ago By Jennifer Scott
As Christmas is approaching, Santa isn’t the only one hustling to make holiday deliveries. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is in its busiest season, shipping and delivering billions of packages across the nation. At post offices in Tyler, staff members are seeing an unprecedented surge of holiday parcels — almost triple the normal load.
“These are the most packages in my 19 years that I’ve seen,” said Bridget Mask, a clerk at a Tyler Post Office. “We’re getting a lot of help, a lot of carriers are doing a great job.” The surge has led to long hours and a heightened focus on customer satisfaction.
“We just hope that the customers (will) be a little patient with us because we're doing all that we can to get your packages to you,” Mask added. “(We are) working day in, day out — come in at 12 o'clock at night..
. sorting packages, carriers coming in early to deliver the packages, just doing everything we can to please the customers.” Tyler Postmaster Aaron Williams highlighted the extraordinary efforts being made as one Tyler office delivered over 15,000 packages in one day.
“You’re looking at 60,000 or so a day almost coming in and out of each office - going out to the customer, getting the mail timely, we send it out, we push the mail,” he said. “We want everyone to have a joyous season.” Williams, who became Tyler’s 45th postmaster in February, oversees all aspects of the operation.
His responsibilities align with the 10-year delivery plan as instituted by the Postermaster General (PMG). “We have many different plays that we have that we operate off of,” Williams said. “We have delivery plans, we have our clerk plan function for availability.
We have all of these plans that the PMG instituted to make this to transform the network of the postal service, and that's what I'm in charge of.” Tyler’s post offices have been able to avoid hiring seasonal workers thanks to a strong and well-prepared team. “We hired an astronomical amount of career employees and new pre-career employees to ensure that we don't have the impact that may have been prior years or anywhere before we are set in place to have a successful 2024 season,” Williams said.
The Tyler USPS staff consists of nearly 300 employees spread across four offices. Williams credits having a great staff in his management team and how they work in different capacities to ensure that all bases are covered. “We work together as a team,” Williams said.
“It's not just me, it's my team that makes sure that Tyler works together and gets you (the customer) the service that you require.” For those using USPS services, Williams advises planning ahead. “We would love for you to get the packages to us early: your mail, your cards that you're trying to get out,” he said.
“Of course, we know some people are gonna be last minute and get it there on the 21st but our job and what we're committed to is getting the mail to the destination by Christmas.” The last day for USPS Ground Advantage Service and First-Class Mail is Dec. 18, followed closely by Dec.
19 for Priority Mail. For those needing expedited delivery, Priority Mail Express offers final shipping by Dec. 21.
The hours of operation are generally from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.
m.; however, Post Offices do have extended hours to accompany the busy holiday season, especially for last-minute drop offs. With a 24-hour operational schedule, the Tyler USPS staff is working tirelessly to ensure every package reaches its destination on time.
The Azalea office on Broadway offers a self-service kiosk for customers who need to send mail outside of regular business hours. According to Williams, staff members are available to assist with a smile, ensuring packages are promptly processed and sent to their intended destinations. “If you came to the door at five o’clock, we’re not going to turn you away,” he said.
“We’re gonna make sure that we get that package and we also want to meet the deadlines so we will take it and we will get it to the destinations.” The Tyler Post Offices are located on 2100 W. Martin Luther King Boulevard; 2627 S.
Broadway Avenue, 3320 Troup Highway Ste 290, and 6722 S. Broadway Avenue #100. “Here in Tyler, we are able to get many, many thousands of packages out to the community,” he said.
“The team that was assembled here before I got here is a great team so that allows us to really give the community some great customer service. It's been great this holiday season.”.
