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When one of my colleagues is out of the office, he doesn't mess around. In fact, he's turned his auto-responses into a running series of commentary from fictional cartoon character Troy McClure.
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It is absolutely no one’s business why you are out! “Extended leave” is more than sufficient.
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Automatic replies help to stay connected to customers even if the particular channel is not available at that moment. When you are out of the office or busy, it is extremely helpful to provide personalized messages as it gives satisfaction and positive brand experience.
I would like to think that a professional translator would think to provide their out-of-office message in all languages that they translate. If anybody here is one, is that standard operating procedure?
If the thought of me sight-seeing in Lisbon is making you feel a little blue here is a cat GIF to cheer you up.
I give my folks scripts because, otherwise, I end up with long winding OOOs that talk about why they’re out but not what the writer/caller should do to get help (staff is 1/3 entry-level with varying degrees of professional office familiarity). I do not have the time to micromanage to this level, though – if I see an off-spec OOO, I send the how-to guide and remind them that they need to tell people who to call while they’re out or to mention the specific dates, but most of them have good judgment enough not to be totally inappropriate to the point I need IT to intervene.
I do this, too, especially if I’m out for longer than a day or two. I like giving myself a bit of breathing room to dig out of the inbox.
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My boss does not understand OOO and thinks I saw his email and sent the reply personally and does not understand why I didn’t answer the actual question.
Yupp! At this particular place we had a client who could not get a hold of someone. They made a huge stink about it and this became company policy. We also had to change our VM every night. We also had to reply to any emails we received within 4 hours. Even if we didn’t have an answer.
Try this out with your colleagues or share it with colleagues/clients headed off on a vacation to send them off in style:
After I tweeted this example, dozens of people sent me examples of OOO messages they’d set or particularly good examples they’d seen in the wild. One example from a boss (via a TikTok) who offers emailers a decision tree of sorts. “Option 1.) Wait it out. Ask yourself, ‘is this urgent and important?’ If not, take a beat…you and I will be better off with this expectation set now,” the email begins. This one stands out because it’s extremely detailed, manages expectations and also offers who to contact in different situations. It models good behavior of taking time off, but also gives the original sender a variety of option. Most importantly, the responder forces the original sender to assess whether this is actually an urgent request.
I’ll add my shout out to MS and Outlook for not only being able to schedule OoO auto replies, but for having internal and external facing options.
If it’s not that infinite loop of autoreply hell, you get the “I will not be reading or responding to any email sent during this time. Please resend your request after August 1st.” dismissal.
A simple, short and sweet ‘Hi, we’re closing’ is often enough for people to take note. 4. Include the office closing dates in your Newsletter. Simply add a short one-liner to your November & December newsletter to reinforce your closure message. 5. If you send Christmas cards to your network include a little office closing notice. Filter Type All Time Past 24 Hours Past Week Past month Brand Listing› Evernote› Capital One› Iphone› Homelessness› Popcornflix› Tabasco Restaurant 1868› Joseph Newhouse› Github› Logitech› Facetime› Benevolent And Protective Order Of Elks› Freedom Bank Of Southern Missouri› Wyzant› Nissan› Instacart› Country CodeBrowse All Brands >> Frequently Asked QuestionsHow to create an office closed for holiday message?