Happy holidays! I am currently out of the office, with no email access. I’ll be returning on (insert date) and will get back to you as soon as I can. Happy holidays!
According to American Express, “Six in ten customers feel that companies meet their service expectations”. Customers look for faster resolution and rely on the expectations that businesses set with queue time for evaluating their service quality.
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Of course, every message sends a message, even a barebones OOO that seems to say nothing more than that you’re away until next week, so why not try to inject a little personality? You could get quirky by giving your auto-responder robot a personality. You could dispense with words altogether and substitute a gif or emojis. Or how about a little retro concrete poetry – you know, where you arrange your words on the screen to form an image of a palm tree or a pina colada? It might be worth noting here that the amount of personality you inject depends on your trade. What earns you cachet in the creative industries might backfire in the financial sector, for instance.
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.
Hello! Thanks for getting in touch. I’m out of the office until [DATE] with limited access to email. But never fear! I’ve left you with some helpful writing tips to read and share.
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I work for a hospital, in a role unrelated to patient care. My first out of the office message was just my name and department. After a series of increasingly plaintive messages one evening, I added, “If you are calling about patient care, you have the wrong number.”
Yes, this, and when people use OOO message as a “do not disturb” but then email you back right away. That’s not how OOO or email works!
It’s like telling your bank before you leave the country; overlooking it can cause communication issues.
Hello, Thank you for your email. I’m out of the office and will be back on [DATE]. During this period, I will have limited access to email. For immediate assistance please contact by cell number at [PHONE]. Best Regards.
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.
Once you set the iMessage Auto Reply, then let us see iPhone Auto Calls Reply setting. From the same Do Not Disturb Setup screen, you can allow the calls from a specific group like “Favorites.” If you want complete freedom from calls on your vacation, you can select “No One.”
Here are some suggestions for what you should always include in your auto-reply emails when you are out of the office:
I hate to break it to you, but I’m on annual leave until [end date] and will have limited access to my emails until then.
Hi, You just missed me. I am out of the office until [MM/DD]. If your question can wait, great. I’ll reply when I get back. If not, contact [name] at [email] or [phone] and they’ll take good care of you. Meanwhile, feel free to peruse our FAQ section of [website] to see if your question can’t be answered there.
I can’t wait to connect when I return [date]. Until then, please contact [Contact Name] at [contact email] for all urgent matters.
“No matter what your best intentions, you're going to get bogged down the minute you return to the office,” Sullivan says. “Don't set exact timeframes for responding to messages in your OOO. Instead, set general expectations for‘I'll respond as quickly as possible upon my return,’ giving you some leeway.”