Whether your go for professional or funny, the most important task of this email is to clarify communication. A well-prepared auto-responder email will allow you to better enjoy your holiday break.
I might be your coworker. I don’t get a lot of calls so it slips my mind constantly. Email I just set up a timer and it’s so much easier that way.
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The best solution, in my experience, is for the person covering your work to cc’ you on responses to the forwarded request. Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain* June 3, 2021 at 11:27 am
3. "Hey, this is [your name]. If you're calling for [X reason], please [contact so-and-so] or [go to our website, send me an email]. For all other inquiries, leave your name and a brief message and I'll call you back within [one, two, three] business day[s]."
That said, I think it is the kind of thing that is funny with the right people and in the right situation. But an out of office message is an autosend situation, so the email system cannot actually assess if it is appropriate or if the person receiving it will find it amusing, or unprofessional, or apparently even condescending. So while it is a hilarious message for a joke, it would not be a good idea in a professional setting!
“Thank you for the message. I am currently out of the office and will not be back until [date]. I shall reply to your message as I return. Should you require any immediate assistance, feel free to contact [person] at [phone number] in my absence. Have a wonderful holiday season.”
Check this for How to set an Out Of Office reply messages in Outlook[Tutorial/Step by Step Guide]
You can’t do that when students are emailing (well, you can, but you shouldn’t). Our office requirement is “within 48 hours during regular business hours.”
I am the LW! It’s interesting, having Alison type out the OOO reply comes across less condescending than how it did in video. I’m sure it works for their office but it also says a lot, potentially, about their culture that she’d need to write something out like that in the first place! Usually “I’m OOO from X to X, please contact X for (reason)” should suffice.
One nice compromise I’ve seen is that some people add upcoming PTO to their email signature for a week or two beforehand. That way the people you’re working with right then get a heads up without needing to spam everyone with the information.
We are encouraged to put up messages that say we have “limited access to email” and alternative contact for things like travel between offices and conferences. We’re technically working those days, but it may be hard to reach us.
I’d then check off all that applied—people would laugh each time they saw it bc I’m such a predictable nerd, one or both of the first two lines was almost always checked off…and usually both!
Inspiration 1 – Christmas colors green and red. Green and red are the colors that define this Christmas email signature template. A light and general marketing banner is the way to go if you have no time to create your own. If you would like to change the colors to match your brand identity, you can do it in the free signature generator.
Select File > Automatic Replies. In the Automatic Replies box, select Send automatic replies. On the Inside My Organization tab, type the response that you want to send to teammates or colleagues while you are out of the office. Select OK to save your settings.
Yes, I phoned a dentist office late in the day for a reinfected root canal problem and got a cutsy “humphrey bogart” fake reply on their voicemail — I thought it was extremely inappropriate for a business office to use something like this. It was hard to find it funny, especially because while calling me “sweetheart” and all that, the message didn’t actually tell me when they might return my call (later that day? Next day? Next week? Never?) nor did they offer any options for emergency contact with another dentist.
Not exactly a neutral audience, though. A number of people following the account, if not most, will be following because they share the same sense of humor. Likewise people @ed by friends.
I feel like this is the only reason to do this, otherwise its just a big piss off.