SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Think your job is hectic? Try working at the Canada Post office or its sister site at Shoppers Drug Mart during the height of the Christmas season.

Processing around 200 parcels a day - it's all in a day's work at Christmas time for Vicenta A. Sumcad-Bugg, post office manager at Shoppers Drug Mart, and her staff. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

"Very stressful" is how Vicenta A. Sumcad-Bugg, Shoppers' post office manager, describes the month of December.

"There are times when I have dinner when I come home and then I lie down," said Sumcad-Bugg, describing a typical night after a restless shift. "All of a sudden the light is still on and - oops! - it's four in the morning. I fell asleep."

The volume of parcels coming into Yellowknife this month has resulted in waits as long as 30 minutes at Shoppers, despite a doubling of staff at the outlet.

Sumcad-Bugg estimates that, more than 200 hundred parcels arrive per day for processing.

John Abbott, area manager for the Franklin Avenue Canada Post office, said that during Monday and Tuesday of last week, evening drivers tried to deliver 1,600 parcels, with 240 of those packages returned over to Shoppers when the recipients did not answer their doors.

"My goal is to satisfy the customer," said Sumcad-Bugg. "They want their parcel right away and I can understand ... but the thing is, you can only do so much within a day."

Hot-blooded customers have prompted Shoppers owner Darryl Dolynny to post "civility signs" in various areas of the post office.

"Your post office staff respect all who seek their assistance for service," the signs read. "Keep in mind these are employees of Shoppers Drug Mart and not Canada Post. This outlet is an end user outlet; we too are the mercy of Canada Post and have no controls in how your mail is delivered, carded or returned…

"You can expect service to be provided with dignity and concern, and in turn we expect our staff will be treated in a similar manner. Abusive or harassing behaviour will not be tolerated."

"They're a staple in a lot of areas where there's a lot of public services involved," Dolynny said of the signs. "At this time of year, there's obviously a lot more concern, a lot more people are obviously anxious to deal with parcels, whether it's delivery or pick-up.

"Sometimes emotions do flare up."

Abbott estimated the volume of mail in Yellowknife triples in December.

"Christmastime is what Canada Post employees live for," said Abbott, denying any hint of sarcasm in that statement. "We go to extreme measures. On Christmas Eve, before we shut the doors, everybody gets out their cell phones and cordless phones and they start picking the parcels that haven't been picked up, phoning the customers and saying, 'Hey. The post office is closing in a half an hour. Would you like to come get (your package)?'"

At Shoppers, staff have also put up a stalwart effort, said Dolynny.

"The whole store has to work around the mail process," he said. "Once this mail is in our possession, we have to secure it. Even the back room has to make provisions for all this influx of mail, so the whole staff is involved for four weeks."