But for employees at Daimler things are a little different. Email these people while they are on holiday and you will get a message like this:
We use cookies to optimise your experience on our website. If you continue we'll assume that you are happy to receive our cookies. EXE Mobiltechlifts Xstage Xtruss Home Products ML2 Telescopic Lift ML3 Line Array Lift ML4 Multi-Purpose Lift News Markets A4 Magazine Contacts Office closure for the Christmas holidays Office closure for the Christmas holidays
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If an equally epic OOO message is the only thing missing from your upcoming epic adventure, check out this quirky one: Hello there, It’s that time of the year. The time where I save up all my annual leaves and spend it on one epic adventure. Where am I? Tibet, the roof of the world. I will be halfway up Mount Everest. And I too wondered if I will get any wifi up there 🤔 I think they do. If you have any questions about your account, you may get in touch with my very capable and friendly colleagues at [email]. As with all journeys, however magical, my trip will have to end. I will be back to the grind on [date]. Tujay-chay,
My husband’s voice mails says “…if you need immediate assistance call Mary at ####…”, only Mary retired something like eight years ago. I mention this to him every once in a while. It hasn’t changed.
So from [date] to [date], I am going to be laid out in the sun catching a tan and reading a book.
But really, I think people who know you WFH will get your meaning and people who don’t know you WFH won’t care or feel misled if they find out you really work from home.
Sample Phone Scripts. After Hours Voicemail for a Small Business: Thanks for calling (our company). The office is currently closed. Office hours are 9am to 6pm, Eastern Time. Please leave a message at the tone and we'll call you back on the next business day. Thank you. Voicemail Script: You have reached (your business name).
Thank you for your email. I’m currently out of the office, returning on [return date].
Sorry I missed you — I’m unable to get to my email right this second. Why? I’m on a backpacking trip, surviving on Spam, really good water, and trail mix. You should see the stars out here.
If you need any help, I'm sure that contacting anyone else in the company will also be a waste of time.
The science fiction writer John Scalzi says “The failure mode of clever is asshole,” which seems to apply here.
Dear Customer, Thank you for your email, but our company is out of office, celebrating [HOLIDAY]. Unfortunately, it means we will not be able to send you any reply until [DATE]. We apologize for the delay but wish you a wonderful holiday season. Best regards.
The recipient may have filtering turned on that would reject the automatic reply;
When I’m out for a day or longer, I like to schedule my out of office message to run all the way up until the start time of my day when I return, since we have people who start emailing three hours or earlier before I even get to my desk. If it’s a Monday and I’ve been out for two weeks and they’re emailing me at 6:30am my time, I want people to know that I’ve been out and will be wading through my inbox and might not answer them right away at 10:01 their time like I typically would.
That is kind of glorious. And it does make sense when the person you’re emailing is gone for months. I did something similar my last mat leave except I didn’t explicitly state it, and lo and behold, people figured out that I wasn’t going to catch their email from a month or so earlier unless they brought it up again.
Of course, I had one POTENTIAL cient who got the “I’m in court and can’t call you back” repeatedly calling and demanding to know why I wasn’t calling him back. Like “I;m IN COURT DUDE. The JUDGE takes precedence over you.” He really expected me to tell the judge to take a recesss so I could call him back. I eventually got back to him with an email “I think you might be better off with another attorney.”
A retired small town newspaper guy once told me about the first time the publisher went on vacation and left him in charge (this would have been in the 80s). The publisher told him “Don’t call me unless the building burns down, and even then, don’t call me until the fire is out.” Good example of management setting vacation expectations.