JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We are two weeks away from Christmas and employees at the U.S. Postal Service Packaging Annex are keeping the Christmas magic alive in Jacksonville.
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That includes 24/7 non-stop processing of packages coming in and out of the building. Today, Action News Jax got a behind-the-scenes look as these employees deal with a record number of packages.
More than 600,000 are expected this Monday alone.
Employee Lark Thompson said it is rewarding to be a middleman for parents who need to fill the bottom of their Christmas trees.
“I want my mail, and if I want my mail, I know everybody else wants their mail too. You never know what’s inside of a package and how important it might be to our customers. I always try to put myself in their shoes,” said Thompson, a Postal Support employee.
Managers said the Jacksonville Package Support Annex on Main Street processed around 1.1 million gifts in the past two days. Regional Plant Manager, Michael Willard adds they are already more than 20% over what they had last holiday season. Just yesterday, December 10th, employees processed 35% more packages than the same day the year prior.
Willard stresses this efficiency is made possible by 11 months of preparation.
“As soon as Christmas is over, we celebrate the New Year like everyone else in January and then we start reviewing the data,” said Michael Willard.
A normal day at the Jacksonville Package Support Annex includes processing around 350,000 boxes, envelopes, and other types of mail. Holiday packaging skyrockets to more than 530,000 in one day. Willard said the peak is near despite already setting new records.
The company is bracing for the busiest day this month, December 16th.
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