Postal officials say there is a reason they have been slowed down.
Call it the polar vortex pileup. Last week's extremely cold weather meant the postal service was not delivering at full capacity. It caused a backlog of packages at the Wicker Park branch of the post office, which services the West Town neighborhood. Residents there have been waiting several days for deliveries.
"We know mail is important to them. It's important for us to deliver it to them. That's why we're doing everything we can to get everything cleared up and get the mail to them as soon as possible," said Mark Reynolds, spokesperson, USPS.
That includes adding an extra "package delivery run" in West Town. It's taken place the past few mornings. The post office says that's helped to clear the backlog of deliveries. B.J. Pichman finally got four of six packages he's been waiting for but says when he tried to go to the branch to track down the rest, it was a lost cause.
"I go there to pick them up, and they say that we have too many packages. We can't possibly sift through all of this. So I guess I'm at their mercy to sift through the pile," said Pichman.
Curtis Lemay says he understands the severe weather's impact on the postal service but says his delivery should have arrived by now.
"This is the third time coming here. I'm kind of understanding about it, but sooner or later it's gotta get here. My main concern is that it gets sent back 'cause it's sitting in the back of a warehouse for a week or two," he said.
The post office says West Town has a higher concentration of residents who shop online, and delivering all those packages was hampered by the weather.
"It's not really convenient for customers to go to the branch and get it. We appreciate the urgency. What we need them to do is stay patient, let us do our job and bring the mail as quickly as we can," said Reynolds.
