I am in London May 29th - June 4th, so email replies may be tardy due to the curvature of the earth and the sun… and you know… science and stuff.
I’m extremely busy watching Home Alone, Die Hard, and the 1994 Ninja Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Christmas Special on repeat until the new year.
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Hey there! I’m on holiday right now. I’ll try to reply to your message ASAP. Talk to you later!
It is important to understand that your auto-response message can go to anybody, even your top management people. Try to avoid any embarrassment by taking the time to proofread the message.
The question last week about “thanks in advance” had me wondering about your thoughts on this person’s manager’s out-of-office reply in this video. I found it to be super condescending and way too much. What do you think? Would be interested in readers’ out-of-office messages.
If the visitors land your website after business hours or during holidays and do not get any response they might slip away. They could be important sales leads and losing them can impact your business.
The funny and charming email template below keeps the confidence of your colleagues with a list of things anyone who works in an office is thankful for. Of course, feel free to customize this list according to the quirks of your own workplace. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reveal them.
I worked somewhere that required we use them when we left for the day or if we were in meetings all day. It was rather annoying to do every single day. Now I am not at a place that requires it thankfully. I will often put one up if I leave early or if I am arriving late. Also if I am actually out of the office I will also put one up.
Ha – I didn’t watch the video but still definitely get the condescension! It’s a LOT of extra explaining and direction when something like, “if you need immediate assistance, please contact Fergus at…” will do. In my opinion, cutesy stuff like this is mildly entertaining at the beginning but gets dumb/annoying shortly thereafter. Not just with OOO messages, but other instances where companies try to make being “cool/funny/laid back” parts of their brand in really obvious ways.
However, I will be taking periodic breaks from binge-watching everything I’ve missed to check my email [once per day/every evening/occasionally] while I’m away.
YES. I was actually just going to go on the weekend thread and ask if I was the only one that really hates this term.
Very true, if the options came in reverse order (or maybe emergency first followed by not-urgent followed by urgent) that would be a little better.
Thank you for your email. I’m out of the office for the holidays and will be back on [date]. During this period I will have limited access to my email. If you need to contact me, I can be reached on [number, another email, mailing address], otherwise, I will respond to your email on my return.
I got the original voice mail on my landline when it became available for home use. It replaced the old voicemail recorder you could buy.
A literary agent I follow told the story of a long argument her autoreply had with a would-be author. She’d set up the outbound email while out of town and apparently an author who queried her with his book took offense to it. He replied back in frustration that he didn’t get a personal response. Her autoreply sent back another automated message, which he then in increasing anger kept responding to.
It’s my favorite time of year, which means I’m currently out of the office lounging on a Carribean beach, sipping on mojitos, and attempting to achieve the tan I’ve been waiting all year long for.
Because I used to get phone calls that defaulted to, “I need the director”, I had my out of office mail set to: