I mean, this is what I pretty much did upon returning from my maternity leaves but I would never put it into an email! My maternity leave OOO was the vague “I am on extended leave and am not anticipated to return until X. Please contact Joe or Fergus in my absence.” X being a vague time-frame based on my due date and the length of my leave. No one is waiting 3+ months for an answer so I did get to delete most of the 500 emails I got during my most recent leave! I did once have someone internal tell me I should say maternity leave rather than leave, but really, what does it matter? I’m gone for a few months and no one outside of the company really NEEDS to know why.
From the familiar to the more unexpected, peruse some of the different uses for automated text replies.
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Thanks for calling [Company Name].For more information about our products, press 1. If you have troubleshooting questions, press 2. For billing questions, press 3. For a Dial by Name directory, press 4. For our regular business hours, press 5. If you know your party’s extension, please dial it now. For all other inquiries, please stay on the line, and a representative will be happy to assist you. 5. Offering the Operator First
When it comes to the final days before vacation, people tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) those who watch the clock incessantly, and 2) those who are so busy before they leave, they might even forget to put up an out-of-office (OOO) email message.
“Depending on your company culture or your potential audience, you can craft a professional message or take a funny, creative approach,” according to Indeed.com.
Note: Outlook does not attach your signature when it sends automatic replies. If you have a signature, you might want to paste it below your message. If you don’t have one, check out our guide on how to add an email signature in Outlook.
International locations, such as Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, may observe different holidays. Holiday Schedule Official University Holiday FY 2021–2022 (Observed*) FY 2022–2023 (Observed*) Independence Day July 5, 2021 July 4, 2022 Labor Day September 6, 2021 September 5, 2022 Thanksgiving Day November 25, 2021 November 24, 2022 Day After Thanksgiving November 26, 2021 November 25, 2022 Christmas Eve December 23, 2021 December 23, 2022 Christmas Day December 24, 2021 December 26, 2022 New Year's Eve December 30, 2021 December 30, 2022 New Year's Day December 31, 2021 January 2, 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 17, 2022 January 16, 2023 Memorial Day May 30, 2022 May 29, 2023 Juneteenth June 20, 2022 June 19, 2023
She, if I recall, had a few comments from people when she got back regarding her words (she was on annual leave on holiday, it wasn’t a family emergency or anything that might excuse the tone). It rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way (most of them parents themselves!). Don’t recall more of an outcome though, I wasn’t at that firm long.
البريد الالكتروني إلى [email protected]. شكرا جزيلا. نتمنى لكم يوما جميلا John - Doe AG الخاص بكم.
Yeah, I have to agree. It’s a lot of explaining of things that are likely to be obvious to many people, as though they haven’t considered these options, but that they have to sit through anyway in order to get the information they need about who to contact. And the people who most need to listen to it probably won’t.
I once left a kind of breezy, fun out of office message for “people inside my organization” that said the literal truth: “I am out of office this week at a mountain resort where I have paid many hundreds of dollars for someone to take my electronics away from me. I’ll get back to you Monday,” and a very normal and professional OOO for “people outside my organization.” Needless to say I returned to a message from a senior (but not, I stress, my boss or even on my team) colleague calling me out on it. People surely can make things their business.
Sorry to miss you. I wrapped up everything at the office and am off on vacation until [DAY OF WEEK], [DATE]. Anyway, if your question or favour can wait, great. If not, do me a favour and forward your email to [EMAIL] and you’ll be well-treated. Thanks. (Source: Futureofworking.com)
Thanks for your email. I will be away from the office until September 13th and will respond as soon as I can.
A weekly dose of all your favorite [COMPANY] content sent right to your inbox. To ensure you don’t miss out on all the good stuff, sign up for our newsletter here. I’ll be sure to get back to you when I return on [MM/DD]. Thanks.
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Dude, my brain is not friends with my ears. It’s not psychological, my brain’s just less reliable than Siri at transcribing your voicemail. No one wants me calling them back explaining that I don’t handle the otter scriptorium inks when really they wanted a chocolate teapot.
There’s no shame in using Christmas to indulge in your childhood movie tastes, but there is shame in not sharing that adorable side of yourself when people are trying to reach you during the holidays.