Peak day at post offices

Monday marked a significant occasion in the 2006 holiday season. It was neither the busiest shopping day nor the first day of winter, but, as anyone who went to the post office likely figured out, it was the busiest mailing day of the year.

The Santa Ana Processing and Distribution Center, the district post office for the Newport-Mesa area, opened its doors at 6:30 a.m. Monday at 3101 W. Sunflower Ave. and did not close them until 7 p.m., serving approximately 1,800 people. Post offices nationwide extended their hours during the holidays and expected to receive 1.4 billion pieces of mail on Monday alone.

Despite the high volume, local post office customers were generally satisfied with the service they received, and most were in and out in 20 minutes or less. One customer was even excited about her visit to the Santa Ana post office.

“I was actually looking forward to coming down to this post office because their morale is so good,” said San Clemente resident Barbara Desforges, a self-proclaimed post-office connoisseur. “I’ve been here before, and I wanted to come again.”

Tom Coppola, a retail ambassador for the U.S. Postal Service, directed lobby traffic at the West Sunflower Avenue office, where more than 600 people were served by noon, one of whom was mailing live chicks. While socializing with customers and answering questions, Coppola had his hands full, assembling boxes and readying them for mailing.

“We’ve been able to move the line pretty quickly,” he said. “I prepare customers so when they get to the window, they’re all ready to go.”

In addition to Coppola’s assistance, six service windows were open to customers and many others took advantage of the Automated Postal Center, a 24-hour, self-serve mailing station where they can pay with debit or credit cards to mail almost any domestic parcel.

Meanwhile, on Balboa Island, the local post office was catching its first break at about 2:30 p.m. Postal worker Rick Csurilla estimated that more than 250 customers had dropped in since the office opened at 9 a.m., when some of them were waiting outside for the doors to open.

“My first customer had 76 packages,” Csurilla said. “That’s when I knew Christmas was here.”

But with only two postal workers on duty, there were rarely more than a few people in line, most waiting only two or three minutes. Jeff Herdman, a Balboa Island resident, said he walked out of a larger office earlier that morning to avoid a long line. The woman waiting behind him, Theresa Castleton, called the Balboa Island site a “best kept secret,” the only drawback being the lack of parking.

“I’m out the door, and I even have time to go to Starbucks,” Castleton said.

Post office traffic generally peaks the Monday before Christmas, the Postal Service’s recommended mail-by date for Christmas delivery of all first-class letters and cards.

Postal service officials reminded patrons that there is still time for Priority Mail and Express Mail; the latter can be mailed as late as Friday and could still make it on time for Christmas.

“Just because you procrastinated, that doesn’t mean you can’t mail your packages,” Coppola said.