My old work colleague keeps e-mailing me

[homesick_american 1]

The last 2 weeks I spent at the contract that just ended, I kept pushing my colleague to sit down and chat about the databases I had built. He kept putting it off, so I told him to e-mail me with the odd question (as a courtesy) but to try to figure things out for himself. I made myself available to walk him through all the work that I did and I feel it was his responsibility to ask me these questions when I was still there (and being paid).

Heh. Big mistake inviting him to e-mail me! I get e-mail from him EVERY SINGLE DAY asking me questions that he should be able to answer himself. He was so confident about his ability to program in Transact-SQL before I left, and now he's e-mailing me to ask about simple CONVERT() functions that he could figure out himself if he just looked at the damned help files that come with every single copy of SQL Server.

Before I left, they asked me to write a 'quick and dirty' test database for another unit of the company and a front-end application to go with it for testing purposes only. The guy is trying to migrate it to a live environment now and is b!tching that there's not enough error checking. I did explain to him that 'quick and dirty' means they don't get any, and he needs to write it himself...now he's all "but I don't know how."

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. LEARN!

It's so NOT what he was saying 2 weeks ago. I'm tired of all these e-mails.

[JODO 2]

Is there anyway you can block him without him knowing? If not, just ask him politely to limit his emails to things that he absolutely cannot discern on his own.

The only other thing I guess is if he is that clueless,just try to have mercy on him

Oh wait.. You don't work there anymore? BLOCK!!!

Edited May 30, 2007 by JODO

[homesick_american 1]

Is there anyway you can block him without him knowing? If not, just ask him politely to limit his emails to things that he absolutely cannot discern on his own.

The only other thing I guess is if he is that clueless,just try to have mercy on him

Oh wait.. You don't work there anymore? BLOCK!!!

I was friends with him before I got the job...in fact he got me the job...so I don't want to sound ungrateful but I did give him every opportunity to ask those questions when I was still on the clock.

So far I have answered all of his questions but I'm already starting to forget the details of the databases I designed. I don't have them in front of me and it's not easy to answer the questions. Plus, it's not really my job anymore. If they felt that they still needed my expertise they should have kept me on.

[Peikko 1,575]

I don't see how this is your responsibility any longer, you've left. Your friend will have to explain to the company how he is having problems and they will have to decide how to deal with it.

[tom&tata 2]

Take time before answering it. Then your friend would need to figure out things him/herself instead of relying on your answer.

I made myself available when I left my job before I moved but I said to them it will take a while for me to answer because 12 hrs time difference. Well, I got paid for 1 month for staying extra 2 weeks - so it was a nice gesture for me for the nice gesture for the company.

[Ron/Sharon 0]

Make up your own letterhead (HomeSick Consulting) or (American Consulting) and send him a letter advising him that future consultations will be billed per question plus time.

It may get him to think about what he is doing, remember that if you didn't answer without cost to him, he would have to pay someone else for the same results.

OR

you can e-mail him with questions daily and see what he says to that then tell him that is how you feel about his.

Ron

[JoeMama 0]

If the letter doesn't work, you could ask him if he wants to join that guy from Canada that's going around asking women to kick him in the nads!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I don't see how this is your responsibility any longer, you've left. Your friend will have to explain to the company how he is having problems and they will have to decide how to deal with it.

Exactly.

[broma25 2]

Offer to go into the office to go through things with him, but explain that as you thought your services were no longer required you will have to tender an invoice to the company for your time.

If that is refused....tell him to naff off and don't email you no more...lol

[homesick_american 1]

Thanks guys; I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that I no longer have any responsibility to the company!

[Sharon 1]

Hmmm...here's a thought -

How about just being honest with the guy?

Tell him that you have faith in him that he can find the answers to his questions to you if he really tries. And give him a hint about the Help files might be where some of his answers lie.

Just be honest. Simple.

[Emancipation 2]

Take time before answering it. Then your friend would need to figure out things him/herself instead of relying on your answer.

I made myself available when I left my job before I moved but I said to them it will take a while for me to answer because 12 hrs time difference. Well, I got paid for 1 month for staying extra 2 weeks - so it was a nice gesture for me for the nice gesture for the company.

This is the one that rings with me.. if the guy is smart enough to figure out this stuff just give him time to.. I know my old place of work is still e-mailing me once a week or so, and often it's simple questions that someone else on staff knows the answer to or could help with. They are all personal friends of mine so I don't mind at all e-mailing back if I can help. But if it's bothering you, give him some time to stew and if it's a crisis he'll find a way around it.

My company that I left (in Canada) did the same thing.. I gave them a month & 1/2's notice (was doing payroll for over 100 employees, contract management for a multimillion dollar firm & Office Management) and they NEEDED the time to pick my brains.. but they didn't do it.. so I understand the frustration believe me!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Also, help for T-SQL (for sybase, as well as MS-SQL) is easily available off the web at

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/a...42(SQL.80).aspx

(though some of the features of MS-SQL don't work @ all in Sybase--example being date-format conversions)

Edited May 31, 2007 by CherryXS