PHOENIX — It's the merriest and busiest time of the year!
Robin Kalde has spent 36 years spreading holiday cheer while getting packages processed and delivered.
She is among hundreds of postal employees assigned to the USPS West Valley Processing Center. It is the third largest processing center in the country, going through an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 packages a day.
"Of course, a majority of the volume is going out of state right now to get to the customers," said Russell Ryndak, the USPS plant manager.
Ryndak gave ABC15 a behind-the-scenes look at the intricate process, which consists of many moving parts and months of planning.
"We have to plan all the transportation, estimations of volume increases, how we're going to move that volume, how many more employees we're going to need to actually move those volumes," said Ryndak.
If you're wondering when you should send out holiday cards or packages, you have a few options to ensure they get there by Christmas:
- For USPS Ground Advantage or First-Class Mail, the deadline is December 16
- Priority Mail's deadline is December 18
- The Priority Mail Express deadline is December 20.
There are also tips to keep in mind to make sure there are no bumps along the way:
"Use our boxes and secure it, make sure because we get a lot of open packages. Once we see that, we do our best to tape it up and secure it. Another good tip is, always leave like a little index card in the package - where it's supposed to go and the return address," said Ryndak.
While the rush is an exciting time for employees, they ask customers to be patient.
"We're doing the best we can and you're going to get your package as soon as we can get it to you," said Kalde.
