Editor's note: This post was originally published in February 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. Try This Effective Prospecting Voicemail Script [Tips Included] Sales | 12 min read
That’s all for now. Watch for me in the upcoming out-of-office message, It’s Not a Hangover, It’s Food Poisoning — I Swear! And be safe out there. 7. “The bad news is that I’m out of office. The good news is that I’m out of office.”
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If you work with regular clients, then you may want to send holiday messages to clients to help maintain these important relationships. Reminding clients that you are there for them through these brief messages can go a long way to creating goodwill with these pivotal connections.
"Hello, you've reached [name] at [company]. I'm unable to come to the phone right now. Leave your name and number, and I'll return your call as soon as I'm free. Thank you."
I guess it’s relatively minor, but I once emailed a local government official with a question about building permits (just as a citizen, not work-related) at about 10am on a Monday and got an out-of-office reply stating she’d be back “Monday” with no date. So I had no idea whether she was already back and hadn’t turned off the message yet, in which case, not urgent, I’ll wait, or was out for a week, in which case, I’d like to ask someone else. Not a big inconvenience, but it was so illogical not to give a date that it really drove me crazy
Make sure that customers who attempt to contact you know when you expect to be in the office again. Most customers will understand the desire to devote time and energy to the family during the holidays, but they want to know when you'll be back to provide them with your usual excellent customer service.
We also had company wide announcements that all of Spain was going on holiday in July, and then France would be gone on August, so please wrap up any business for the summer before then :’)
It’s possible I might quote from some responses to this in an upcoming column, so please note if you don’t want me to do that with yours!
Pet peeve: a fe people I know use the OOO reply to say something like ‘Have a great day!’ It is on all the time, and for no helpful reason.
The recipient may have filtering turned on that would reject the automatic reply;
A well-deserved holiday deserves a substantial out-of-office message that really hammers home the fact that they’re still working, while you’re off on your travels – nice and descriptive to really paint the picture!
Except since we usually have a strict 2 GB inbox limit, that usually lasts about 2-3 months at best and then nobody can send you anything at all so it works out. (In-organization they’ll still see the OOO when they put you into the address bar, so it works out that it’s not TOO much to delete when you return.
Goofy dad joke that doesn’t require changing with the calendar. “What do you call a cephalopod carved out of ice? COOLAMARI.” You’re set for at least three vacations on that one.
That’s basically my OOO message also. I’ll admit, I haven’t checked my office phone in weeks for VM, because anyone internally (or externally with any brain) would IM or email, and any spam calls can just sit in my VM.
Image Source: https://onepoint21jigawatts.tumblr.com/post/61059236581/day-1-favorite-movie-field-of-dreams-1989
Thanks for calling [Company Name]. Our offices are currently closed. Our business hours are from Monday to Friday 9 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time, and Saturday 9 AM to 12 PM Eastern. If you would like to leave a message in our general voice mailbox, press 1. A representative will contact you the following business day. To reach our company directory, press 2. For business hours and directions to our office, press 3. You may also email us at [company email]. For more information about our products and services, please visit us at [website]. To repeat this message, press the * key. 7. Direct Customers to Your Account Login Page
Therefore, if your email truly is urgent and you need a response while I’m on vacation, please forwarded it to my personal email [email] and I’ll try to respond to it promptly. If you think someone else at [company] might be able to help you, please contact [name] at [email] or [phone], and they’ll try to point you in the right direction. Otherwise, I’ll respond when I return.