Aaand, we have an epic entry under "Not My Job"
I just got this email to one of my personal email addresses (which I emphatically do not give out to customers):
sarudy,
I apologize for contacting you at your personal email address. On the weekend, no less! But I am having a problem with the [product] that you helped me launch. And this can't wait until Monday.
[Two paragraphs explaining problem in detail.]
I've already left voicemail and have sent email correspondence to [the department that actually does handle such issues], but no one has replied. Can you escalate this for me? Someone must be on call during the weekend for emergencies. They can contact me at ...
Thanks in advance for your help.
--[Customer]
I have to assume that the customer did a Google search on my name, found my resume, and used the email contact on that. I'll grant that he would not have recieved a response from the regular channels until Tuesday (we're closed Monday, which I am sure he did not know), and that it was conceivably a revenue-affecting issue, but that really doesn't make contacting me personally any less creepy.
I considered just ignoring it, but the kindness of my heart kicked in. I sent him a quick note apologizing that I have no access to work systems from home... and blind copied my boss's work email. I happen to know that my boss checks his work email on weekends (he has a blackberry/leash) and he also supervises the people who do fix problems like the one in question. Lo!, my boss replied to the customer and said he'd look into it.
I feel conflicted. One the one hand, tracking me down like that distinctly crosses a boundary, and I don't want to encourage that sort of thing. On the other hand, it feels wrong to be able to help someone and just not do it out of orneryness. We'll see how things played out when I go into work on Tuesday...