Redmond post office overwhelmed with packages, says it should be back on track for Christmas

(Update: Adding video, comments from Redmond post office, Oregon USPS)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The holiday season means a surge in online shopping, which can lead to delivery backlogs -- and they've gotten worse amid staffing shortages facing so many businesses in both the public and private sectors.

The past few weeks in Redmond, the deliveries have been rolling in, in record numbers, according to Tory Holcomb, supervisor of customer services at the Redmond post office.

Holcomb said the office has had 40-50 pallets of packages delivered each day.

“It's the biggest increase in the 23 years I’ve been working for the Postal Service,” Holcomb said Tuesday. 

The office became overwhelmed, delivering packages and mail nearly five days late for several weeks.

Holcomb said short staffing is one factor.

“Yeah, I mean, I think that’s a shortage everywhere. But we’re working that, too, and we’ve got a few people on board, and that’s how we got it caught up,” Holcomb said. 

He said the sheer number of packages was too much for one post office, and volunteers from the Valley and even Arizona had to come help out.

“These guys work hard, man, they do, and people take it for granted and think they’re the only one that gets a package,” Holcomb said. 

Many of you reached out, saying you stopped by the office hoping to pick up any delayed mail.

Holcomb said the post office tries to sort through packages in chronological order, and it's not always that simple.

“You can’t just climb into all that and start digging through it, to try and find that one package, when you’ve got 100,000 packages in there or more,” Holcomb said. 

Lecia Hall, the Oregon representative for USPS, apologized for the inconvenience, providing a statement to NewsChannel 21:

"We are seeing large package volumes in the Redmond area, and we are flexing every available resource, including delivering packages as early as 6 a.m. each day and on Sundays. Every Redmond postal employee is working every available hour now through Christmas Day.  It is our desire to get every package home for the holidays.

"We apologize for any inconvenience our customers may have experienced and are working to restore regular, consistent service. We appreciate the patience of our customers and the efforts of employees as conditions change on a day-to-day basis during this holiday season," Hall added.

Holcomb said he feels as of Tuesday, they’re able to make that happen.

“All they need to know now is it’s going to get to them," he said. "I think we’ve accomplished what we needed to.”