POTTSVILLE, Pa. — A business owner in Pottsville, who says she was able to navigate through the challenges of the pandemic, now faces a different challenge: having her products shipped to customers in a timely manner.
Stephanie Premich has a successful pottery studio called Mud and Maker. She says her business in Pottsville wasn't hit by the coronavirus because she was still able to sell her products online and ship them out to customers across the country. But right now, sending products through the mail isn't as stress-free as it used to be.
"The post office locally has been fantastic. All of our local carriers, we have no issues with. As long as things that are going regionally within the Pennsylvania area, things are going next-day, two-day delivery. But depending on what distribution center something has to go through, things that used to take two, three days are now taking two, three weeks," Premich said.
Luckily for her customers, many of the items she's sending out aren't time-sensitive. But the way in which they arrive at their final destinations seems to be more roundabout than usual.
"I had a package that was going to Bryn Mawr and it went from Pottsville, to Lancaster, to Pittsburgh, to Allentown to Bryn Mawr. I'm like, what?" said Premich. "For the most part, people are pretty understanding knowing there are going to be delays. I'm just hopeful that this all gets resolved before autumn and the holiday rush when people are ordering gifts online."