GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Millions across the nation were left without their intended Christmas gifts Friday morning because of the historic pandemic-related delays at the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Some Triad moms WFMY News 2's Jess Winters spoke with made the best out of a bad situation.
"That was the biggest thing, I worried if it would get here before Christmas or if it was going to get here at all," mom Dolly Strand said.
A USPS spokesperson said the delays are caused by a COVID-19 employee shortage combined with the sheer volume of packages this year.
Jessica Gramisci is a Greensboro mom of two.
"It's not the thing about money. It's the thing that I don't have the present," Gramisci stated.
She shopped extra early this year, and still nothing.
"I ordered one at the end of October to be ready and the other one in the middle of November."
She said her kids still had plenty of presents to open, but not everyone is fortunate enough to go out and buy replacement gifts.
"People don't have money, a lot of people lost their jobs so it's been hard on everybody."
Strand said she was also upset at first but then changed her tune. She told her kids even Santa's sleigh can be a little slow.
"Even my youngest has the understanding that Santa is going to deliver some things a little late this year," she explained. "She's OK our spirits are up, we have our health. We're in unprecedented times that's just the way it goes right now."
Here is a statement from USPS on the delays:
The U.S. Postal Service, similar to the broader shipping sector, continues to face near-term pressure on service performance across categories as it manages through a historic record of holiday volume this season. This negative impact is compounded by the temporary employee shortage due to the COVID-19 surge, as well as ongoing capacity challenges with airlifts and trucking for moving this historic volume of mail.
The Postal Service’s 644,000 employees continue to work diligently to address issues and remain focused on delivering the Holidays and beyond for the nation. Amid the historic volume, the Postal Service continues to flex its network, including making sure the right equipment is available to sort, process and deliver a historic volume of mail and packages this holiday season. Our entire Operations team, from collections, to processing to delivery, worked throughout this past weekend and continues to work around the clock to address the historic volume. We are accepting all volume that is presented to us which is adding to our challenges.
