By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
People wait in a long, slow-moving line outside the
Ala Moana post office.

Public flocks to
post office to mail
Christmas goodies

250 temporary employees are
helping cope with the rush

By Leila Fujimori
Star-Bulletin

Eileen Stanton says every Christmas she receives at least two Christmas presents late -- the ones from her two children.

"It's not the post office's fault," the Waikiki woman said, standing in line yesterday to mail her own packages. It's just that her punctuality didn't rub off on her kids. "If they're on time, that'd be a miracle. And my son works for the post office."

The U.S. Postal Service encourages customers to mail early, and yesterday -- one of the busiest mailing days of the season -- many heeded the call. The advice is good: Locally, the postal service between Thanksgiving and Christmas will process 2.25 million priority packages, 10 million Express Mail packages and 44 million letters.

The postal service has holiday prognosticating down to a science, and a Hawaii spokeswoman was able to explain why yesterday was so busy.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Ward Kawano can barely see over his boxes
as he waits inside the post office. He was
sending the boxes to Japan.

"It's one of our peak days this year because Christmas is on a Saturday, and Mondays are busy days," spokeswoman Felice Broglio said.

"People prepare their cards and do their shopping on the weekends," Broglio said. "We can predict this is a very big day for cards and letters. In all of the offices, lines are very long for the big packages and gifts."

True to her words, the line at the Ala Moana station at 3 p.m. was 40 people long and growing. Some had to wait for more than half an hour to get to a window. One woman complained of a splitting headache.

But not everyone was in a holiday funk.

Sohan Pieris waited with Christmas cheer and 12 Christmas cards to mail .

"The one going to Sri Lanka -- I don't think it's going to make it by Christmas, probably New Year's," he said.

He said he'd already sent a batch of presents and 40 cards last week.

Jackson H. Lee cradled two heavy mainland-bound boxes filled with local goodies, including cuttlefish, dried shrimp, cookies and macadamia nuts. He sent six boxes out last week and has two more to go. Lee said he spends about $150 on priority mail every year.

Cynthia Joseph, a reformed procrastinator, sent her presents via priority mail eight days ago.

"I had a head start this year, because I retired last year," said the Makiki resident, who used to shop a week or two before Christmas.

She was in line to mail a present for a brother in California.

Anticipating the Christmas rush, the Postal Service hired 250 temporary workers in Hawaii and 40,000 workers nationwide. It also has contracted more space with the airlines and hired more aircraft to transport the mail.

What holiday mailing tips does the Postal service offer?

"Priority mail is the fastest and most economical, and we plan to keep our commitment and have it delivered in three days," Broglio said. "If it's the week before Christmas, we encourage customers to use Express Mail, which is guaranteed. We will guarantee delivery on Christmas Day, if necessary."

Priority mail is a two- to three-day service and Express Mail is overnight to two days.

"We have a huge delivery on Christmas Day," Broglio said. "Many of our letter carriers actually dress up and feel like Santa."

If Express Mail packages are mailed by next Monday, Broglio predicts they will probably get delivered on time, as long as no weather or logistical problems occur. Postal clerks will inform customers when a package is expected to arrive. Delivery confirmation to track priority mail is now available for 35 cents. Customers can call an 800 number to see if their parcel was delivered.