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You just have to be very certain of your audience if you’re going to use an email with humor. It has to be the right tone, and it has to be right for your business and your clientele.
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Editor's Note: This was originally posted in July 2018 and updated and republished on the date posted in the article. Enjoy!
When customers receive automated messages, they have expectations about the wait duration (in terms of number for e.g. 4 mins or 4th position), that can make or break their customer service experience.
That’s also annoying because if it’s not someone I interact with regularly I will wonder if it’s been left on by accident.
If you’re at a work event (e.g. a conference)If you’re off sickIf you’re working from a different location
Holidays Signs & Templates . Holidays are special days, full of food, family, and fun. You have your traditions, your decorations, but do you have your holiday signage? Signage can be a great addition to any holiday, from Memorial Day to Independence Day, Halloween to Christmas.
I dunno, this is one of those areas I feel like people overanalyze. Like, yes, there are definitely some away messages that make me raise an eyebrow and I really don’t want anyone’s medical history. I’m not a huge fan of the one from the LW cause it’s a bit cutesy and takes too long to get to the point — I prefer short and sweet. But some people also just…struggle with how to put together an away message and copy what their boss does. Or they’re like me — I need a message that works for clients as well, so mine needs to be a little more formal, even if my office isn’t.
It’s also expected that if you’re in Wales you put the effort in to at least try and read Welsh, but tbh I can barely read English before 10am.
One of my co-workers, who was involved in a lot of committees and consequently got even more than the usual share of email around my place, put up an OOO message that said she was going to be “on pot for the week of the 15th.”
Not sure how that particular storm shook out, but it was a classic example of the owner’s narcissism and need to have all of our lives centered around her business “family” with no boundaries.
Naturally, she had to take the day off — and couldn’t let folks know with any old generic auto-response. Instead, she made a guessing game of it in her out-of-office email, which you can use for yourself, below.
5. Provide Your Mobile Number. This template comes handy if you don’t prefer checking your inbox during the holiday but want to provide your mobile number for urgent inquiry.
I work in fundraising for after the standard Im out until X, contact Y in the meantime, I also list ways people can give, since thats my job.
Earlier this year, British comedian Steve Coogan underscored a growing trend to rethink the OOO when he used it not to advertise his own absence, but rather the return to our screens of his blazer-clad alter ego, hapless media personality Alan Partridge. Written in the broadcaster’s inimitable voice, it had stern words for anyone who dared email him: “I’m not in the office so both cannot and will not respond to your email,” it began. “If your email is urgent, perhaps you should have tried calling instead. The very fact you were content to type out your query long hand and settle back to wait for a reply suggests you can wait, even if you’ve put a red exclamation next to your email to make it stand out in my inbox. Won’t wash with me, that.”
My pet peeve is OOOs for the afternoon/an appointment when the person who set it up is NOT good at responding to emails in a timely fashion. If someone usually requires multiple reminders and follow up emails for me to get a reply to an email after 2 weeks, I don’t really need a notification that their responses will be delayed an hour until they get back from the doctor. It makes me think “who are you responding to that quickly, and why can’t you reply to me that fast??”
I am out of the office from January 14 to 20, with only limited access to my emails and voicemail. Please be informed that this mail hasn’t been forwarded. I’ll come back to you as soon as possible.