Post office to offer first-ever Sunday hours this month

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For the first time in its history, the Seymour Post Office will have Sunday hours this month.

The additional hours are in anticipation of increased use by customers mailing holiday cards and packages.

Staff members hope that by being open from noon to 4 p.m. the next three Sundays, people will take advantage of postal services earlier.

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“More and more people are buying online and having things shipped for Christmas,” Postmaster Shannon Childers said. “We want to make it easier and a more friendly process.”

All products and services will be available at the retail counter, and those receiving notices of missed packages or letters will be able to pick them up during the Sunday hours.

“Normally, if you aren’t home on Saturday and we deliver something that requires a signature or is too large to leave, you have to wait until Monday,” Childers said. “Monday is our highest volume day.”

Childers said the post office is seeing a 24 percent increase this year in the number of packages being mailed over the same time last year.

“E-commerce is big for us,” he said. “And in some cases, stores are offering a quicker turnaround time where we get it to the customer the next day.”

And for many people who do their shopping over the weekend, Sunday hours are an opportunity to get their packages into the mail stream earlier, he said.

“We want to be there for our customers when they need us,” Childers said.

The idea is a new way to both help customers and to bring in additional revenue. The postal service receives no tax dollars for its operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage stamps and other products and services, he said.

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Seymour Post Office to open on Sundays

Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 13 and 20

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