I say “thanks for your message” because it feels to brusque without a greeting – but I can see it either way.
Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately, I will not be able to answer your e-mail before 01.02.2021.
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The eternally mind-blowing story of the company-wide email, OoO messages, and reply-all autoresponders that took out a 30,000 employee university email server one summer, comes to mind here…
One common challenge faced by customers is auto reply email or text messages lack a specification about the estimated wait time to get answers for their queries.
The more information you include in your outgoing message about the colleagues who can assist in your absence, the less likely you are to interfere with ongoing projects. This will help ensure you enjoy that well-earned vacation.
I agree that the reasons are not relevant. But at my last company, a coworker had overly short out of office messages. Examples: “out of office today.” Or “out of office until Monday.” With no additional information about coverage, etc. Those always felt overly curt to me and made me wonder, is this person okay? Was this OOO planned or are they on the verge of a mental breakdown? (It was a very toxic culture so this wasn’t out of the question). I would be curious to hear others perspectives on this. Is too little information just as bad?
I will be out of the office this week. If you need assistance while I’m away, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL].
In all seriousness, you've probably ended up here because you were looking for some inspiration on your out of office message. You saw that they can range from funny to outright sales-y to a serious teaching moment. There's a few other things we want to make sure you don't leave out of your next out of office reply. Here's our three rules for scratching out that next OOO:
3. Out of Office Email with Specific Dates Example. [Greeting] I will be out of the office starting (Starting Date) through (End Date) returning (Date of Return).
It’s your last day before the vacation starts, you are rushing through your to-do list and suddenly you realize- I need to write an OOO email!
I do this, too, especially if I’m out for longer than a day or two. I like giving myself a bit of breathing room to dig out of the inbox.
In the Settings panel, select “Automatic replies,” then click “Turn on automatic replies.”
Then wish them happy holidays, for example: I wish you and your family the very best this holiday season. I hope you have a wonderful time this Christmas. I wish you a Happy Christmas and a bright New Year. Peace and joy to you and your family this holiday season. I hope you have a nice and warm holiday season! I'm truly grateful to have a friend like you! Thinking of you with lots of love! I hope you enjoy a wonderful Christmas! How do I send a holiday email to a client?
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
I will be out of the office celebrating Canada Day (July 1), World UFO Day (July 2nd), Tom Cruise’s Birthday (July 3rd) and July 4th (July 4th.) It’s also National Picnic Month so let’s just reconnect in August, shall we?
Help your users know when to expect a response. It’s easy to show customers your team’s availability and let them know when they can get assistance from your team. You can manage their expectations by setting your office hours and expected response time.
Due to a bank holiday, I am out of the office on 18th November. Emails won’t be forwarded and will be answered after my return on 19th November.