FORT WAYNE – Ah, Christmas: Still more than a week away. So it’s not quite crunch time – at least for procrastinators.
Good thing, after that weekend snowstorm, which may have kept some northeast Indiana residents away from shipping spots Monday.
FedEx was expecting it to be its busiest day ever, but the weekend weather that dumped several inches of snow on the region “has thrown a little curve today for everybody,” the owner of one shipping spot said midafternoon Monday.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if next Monday is just about as busy as today,” said John Bowman, who runs the Pak Mail at 6142 St. Joe Center Road. “This whole week will be a very busy week.”
But waiting too long could be costly. Bowman said people often aren’t aware that if a package is normally guaranteed to ship in three days that doesn’t include the day it is dropped off.
“Something that’s going to catch people off guard is next Monday they’re going to think, ‘I’ve got a whole week,’ but shippingwise, you only have three days,” Bowman said. “The stress of the shipping season doesn’t come until next week.”
Rick Groves, owner of PostNet in Auburn, also thinks people are aware they have time.
Groves saw more of a steady trickle than lines Monday at his business, which also handles FedEx and UPS.
But it was still busier than most Mondays.
“Normally, we’ll run about a dozen or so, and today we’ll probably be in the 30s range,” Groves said. “It’s two or three times busier.”
Groves has seen both extremes in customers.
There are the planners who ship early – like the customer who this year sent a Christmas present the week before Thanksgiving. And how can he forget the procrastinators – like a man who two years ago forgot until Dec. 23 he needed to send something to his mom. At that point, Groves said, the man was willing to pay for overnight shipping.
“That’s always been my biggest chuckle,” Groves said. “I think the man spent close to $90 to send oranges to his mom in Florida, and she probably had an orange tree in her backyard.”
