RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
The lines at post offices across the nation are getting longer as Christmas Day draws nearer, but postal patrons can facilitate the delivery of their holiday cards and packages by keeping a few things in mind.
Personnel at the Randolph Official Mail Center say it all starts with this advice: address the envelope or parcel correctly, use the right ZIP code and take care of holiday mailings early.
"One of the biggest mistakes people make is not following the right format for addressing mail," said Mike Cantu, 12th Communications Squadron Enterprise Information Management chief. "If it has to go through human processing rather than automated processing, that can delay delivery up to one week."
Mail will be subject to human processing if an optical character recognition machine, which is used by the U.S. Postal Service to scan envelopes and parcels, cannot read an address, he said.
The postal service recommends that their customers use shipping labels to prepare packages and that they type or print on a light background, use uppercase letters and left justification, place the street address and suite number on the second line from the bottom and the city or installation name, state abbreviation and the ZIP+4 code on the bottom line and omit all punctuation except the hyphen in the ZIP+4 code.
Mr. Cantu, longtime Randolph mail manager, said the wrong ZIP+4 code can also delay processing.
"Never guess the ZIP code," he said. "Packages can get lost that way. No ZIP code is better than the wrong one."
Scanning is also compromised when labels or messages are placed at the bottom, where the address should be, said Doug Ouellette, Randolph mail clerk.
"It's a slower process when the address line is in the wrong place," he said. "Some people leave notes or messages at the bottom of the envelope or package. When that happens, somebody has to hand-sort it so it goes where it needs to go."
Both "to" and "from" information should be included on packages, but only on one side, and all prior bar codes, labels and addresses should be removed.
Mr. Ouellette said customers should consider using the USPS' flat-rate priority mail boxes for shipping purposes. They come in four sizes and the mailing fee ranges from $4.95 to $13.95.
"No matter how much you put in it, or how much it weighs, the fee will be the same," he said.
However, Mr. Cantu warned that mail weighing 13 ounces or more cannot be placed in drop boxes or mail slots due to heightened security requirements. These items must be presented to a USPS employee or at a post office retail service counter.
Today is the deadline to send first-class letters and cards or priority mail to Afghanistan or Iraq in time for Christmas delivery, but Dec. 11 is the deadline for APO/FPO AE ZIPs 090-092 and 094-098, AA ZIP 340 and AP ZIPs 962-966.
Domestic deadlines are still a few weeks away - Dec. 16 for parcel post, Dec. 21 for first-class and priority mail and Dec. 23 for express mail.
Mr. Ouellette said the holiday rush has already begun at the Randolph OMC and lines will only get longer as Christmas Day approaches. He advises customers mail their cards and packages as soon as possible and remember the post office is busiest after 10:30 a.m., especially during lunchtime.
For more information, call the Randolph OMC at 652-3768.