Post Office Lines Grow Longer as Christmas Gets Closer

The long lines you are seeing at the post office are part of what could be one of the busiest holiday mail seasons ever for the postal service.

In Wake County, they have added extra air transportation, mailing equipment and hundreds of employees, but even all of that still may not keep you from standing in line.

Whatever the destination for your cards and gifts this holiday season, if they are going via the post office, expect delays on your trip.

"Had I know that it was supposed to be the busiest day of the year, I wouldn't be here," said postal customer Denise Blythe.

Postal officials are bracing for one of the busiest seasons ever with over 4.5 billion pieces of mail, and 280 million of it was expected Monday. And as lines started to grow, so did the tempers.

"They have to have a break every 20 minutes, 30 minutes or something like that. I have no idea," said one customer.

"The reason is our people get lunch breaks just like everyone else does that works," said postal worker Aldetta Callis.

But there are a few things you can do to keep the line moving.

"A lot of people are not sure the way they would like to send their packages, so if they could make a decision before they get here, that could help us out a lot," explained postal worker Eloise Upchurch.

You can also try an alternative. At UPS, the service begins before you walk through the door.

But with any good service, it does come with a price slightly higher than the post office. So it is up to you if you can afford to wait.

Monday was suppose to be the busiest day of the year, but it was not quite as bad as expected.

Postal officials say they are experiencing the same Christmas delays that retail stores are.

That could mean headaches for those of you that have not mailed your gifts, because the lines may only get longer and longer the closer we get to Christmas.