The problem with that is people just don’t look at your signature. Whereas they are reasonably likely to notice the OOO message in the email subject header.
My mother who is still working at 70 has the best out of office emails. As a nervous millennial I tend to be like ‘hi I’m having surgery but will still be checking my emails’ and hers are just ‘I’m taking a break from work. Be back June 2″
.
Dear [Customer name] Our store will be closed from [date] to [date] for Thanksgiving. We are assure you all of your emails will be answered once we are back on [date]. Kind regards, [Name/signature]
And it's worth pointing out—in case, like me, you missed it because you were awed by her approach to her parental OOO—the response is completely in sync with the New York Times' culture/brand. (You can find her OOO with live links here.)
Our sincere gratitude to those brave men and woman who have served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Event Properties Event Date 05-25-2015 Event End Date 05-25-2015 Capacity Unlimited
Give complete details of the person they can contact if there is an urgency. If you are in charge of multiple departments, you can add more people along with their expertise area so that customers know who they should reach.
If those weren’t bad enough, if anyone on that lists sets up an out-of-office message, it *automatically* replies all. If the email bounces back, it bounces back reply all. One guy left the company and his email had a permanent out-of-office auto reply. The list was quite busy for a month or so and the message popped up multiple times a day.
We hereby inform you that due to the prevailing hazardous situation of [X], it is decided that all our offices in the city [X] will remain closed. At this time, it would be very difficult for all of you to come out of your homes for office as there is unrest everywhere and one never knows when his turn will come. So, by caring for the safety of all of you people it is the mutual decision from all of us that our office will remain closed during this period. As to open it in this prevailing situation is not less than a risk. So, it will remain closed for a long period of time.
This message is automated because I won’t be in the office until [DATE]. I will get back to you as soon as possible when I’m back at the office.
If you have a main email that customers use, set the email out of office message to reflect when you will return and if it is an emergency who they can reach.
It’s so much easier for everyone to have an OoO that says “I’m gone- please contact PaperClipSortingTeam ‘at’ spacelyspacesprockets for help while I’m out.
7.) Bem-vindo ao escritório de advocacia John Doe. Desculpe, no momento não podemos atender a sua chamada, pois você está ligando durante nosso feriado anual. Você pode nos enviar um e-mail em para info @ Lawoffice-john doe.de – que entraremos em contato o mais rápido possível quando retornarmos. Em casos urgentes, entre em contato com o nosso representante de escritório. Eles podem ser encontrados em nosso site www.law office-john doe.de. Muito obrigado pela sua ligação - Adeus.
Crafting an out of office message can be plenty of fun and we're about to show you how with our Mad Libs version!
I worked for a federal contractor back during the Great Recession when government offices were shut down/working with a skeleton crew. I still remember getting OOOs from almost every email address in the agency we worked at explaining they were on furlough & to contact one specific person if the issue was urgent. We all assumed this poor person was hiding under her desk, rocking back & forth, with her head in her hands.
"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."
If you’re using Gmail, you’ll find settings for out of office messages by clicking the cog icon on the main screen:
I am out of the office July 15–25. In the event of an emergency, please contact Yuko Kawakami at [email protected].