Even if you have a job you love, there are few things more satisfying than turning on an out-of-office email responder–especially when it’s for an actual vacation. There’s some serious relaxation in your future, and it’s well-deserved.
An easy win here is to be specific about your out-of-office dates, or to be upbeat about why you are out of office.
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Maybe you’re still available on email, but your location means there might be a little bit of an issue with time differences. This response is clever and a little bit geeky!
Automated reply messages are predefined responses used to communicate with customers across specific scenarios and keep information transparent. It helps customers to understand what is actually happening – whether your agents are busy, out of the office, or on holidays.
Season’s Greetings! It’s my favorite time of year, which means I’m currently out of the office chugging mugs of cocoa, stuffing my face with cookies, and attempting to fulfill my life-long goal of memorizing every single line of [FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE]. I’ll be back in front of my computer on [DATE] and will respond to your message at that time. If you need immediate assistance, please send an email to [NAME] at [EMAIL] so that the other elves in this workshop can help you out. Happy ho-ho-holidays!
Yes, qualifiers can be helpful. Limited vs no email access, out of the office versus working off site, regular out of the office versus extended leave, etc.
Hello, you have reached [Company Name]. To continue in English, press 1, for Spanish, press 2. (Wait for customer to enter an option.) You’ve reached the main menu. To reach a staff member by name, please press 1. For sales inquiries, press 2. For technical support, press 3. To place a purchase order, press 4. For accounting, press 5. To find a store location near you, please press 6. Press 0 to speak with a representative. 4. Product-Focused
I thought this was great. It addressed the fact that when people call, it might be something that doesn’t need immediate attention, it could be important, or it could be critical. And it did it in a humorous way.
I’m out of the office from 01.02.2021 until 05.02.2021. During this period I will have no access to my email.
Very true, if the options came in reverse order (or maybe emergency first followed by not-urgent followed by urgent) that would be a little better.
For specific assistance, I’ll be responding to emails on [date]. If you need something resolved urgently, please contact [Contact Name] at [contact email].
While you’re writing and activating your out of office message, avoid including the following:
A ‘Type A’ who can’t ever fully switch-off from work… at least they’re honest about it!
John Whatsisname has retired. Please contact [insert name and email] for enquiries relating to [subjects], or myself at [email] for personal matters. Thank you to my colleagues and clients for your support over the years.
You’ll have options to set a “first day” and “last day,” or just “first day.” If you want things truly automated, picking a “last day” will trigger the autoresponder to automatically turn itself off the day after the selected date. Of course, in those instances when you’re unsure of your exact return date, it’s best to leave this open-ended. The “out of office” subject line is much less creative and scientific than say, a cold email subject line or a marketing email subject line. More often than not, they’re very plain and simple, like the following:
Start with a friendly greeting. Skip the "Greetings," "Salutations," "Dear sir/madam." These are far too stuffy and robotic. Instead, start off your response with a simple "Hi" or Hello.
Will this work if the phone is off or in airplane mode? I’m leaving the country and I can almost guarantee someone is going to text me and then get really mad even though I told them I was leaving.