The one time of year we all dread is now upon us. No, it's not Christmas, but it's the mail count. As we all know, this is the time of year that if you are on speaking terms with management, you won't be when this count is over. Either way, if you are prepared, you could make things a little less hectic, not to mention you can save your paycheck (or at least minimize the damage).

The three main areas to really keep a close eye on are Parcels  (col. D), Loading Time (col Q), and Other Allowances (Col. R). These are the areas where most of the disagreements come from.

Let's start with the easy one and that is Col Q, Loading Time. The thing to remember is loading time begins when you start moving the conveance to load your vehicle. Where things become contentious is when you don't have a conveance at your case and you pull down your mail and put it on the floor. In that case, loading time begins when you start putting mail on the conveance. Also, I would suggest you invest in a stop watch. Some managers have a tendancy to have a trigger finger and stop the clock while you are loading.

Next is Col D, Parcels. Here, the problems arise with the Do Not Bends and non rigid parcels. With Do Not Bend, the general rule of thumb is that if you can case the item without damaging what is inside of it, it is not a parcel. With non rigid parcels, the big thing here is the size of your case seperations, if it doesn't fit in the case with other mail, it's a parcel. Also the 80% rule does come into play. (See Postaltexans website for details on the 80% rule)

And finally, he is Col R, Other Suitable Allowances, This is the most contentious of all of them since this is where the biggest grey areas are. Keep in mind that anything that goes into this column has to be something that is recurring in nature. This is also the Column that upper level managers watch like a hawk.

In all cases, don't be afraid to ask questions. Whether it be on this forum, other online forums, or other carriers in your office. We all are in the same boat here and none of us want to do anything to harm other carriers. That is the idea behind a union, to help watch out for each other.

Good Luck

"May God give me the strength to control what I can control, the Paitence to deal with what I can't control, and the temperment to not beat up the jerk who is annoying me"