Brad, You can manually turn on DND to activate Auto Reply, explained in the article.
The one from “Central Intelligence” with the Rock that I love is is (paraphrasing) :
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18. "Hi, you've reached [your name]. I'm away from [date] to [date]. If you need help with [X] before then, please contact [name] at [phone number]. Everyone else, please leave your name and number and I'll return your call when I return. Thanks and have a great day."
Check your insurance is up to date and covers the holiday periodMake sure you have sufficient funds in your business account to cover any regular payments for salaries and other billsClarify with staff their exact leave dates and note themSend out your invoices to clientsPay your supplier invoicesSettle your finances and pays
Website: https://futureofworking.com/25-out-of-the-office-message-examples-for-holidays/
Start by recognizing your backup contacts for the time when you are out of the office. Make sure that, when needed, they can be available to help customers instead of you. Meeting with your co-workers and making everything clear should be one of your top priorities. The person who covers you while you are gone should not find that out by receiving an email out of nowhere. Be professional and plan everything properly — you are about to take a break, after all.
Much obliged to you for your email but our office will remain closed due to upcoming holidays. Unfortunately, due to this, we will not be able to send you an answer until 12-01-20XX. In case of emergency, you can send your queries to Ms. Medley at [website], she will answer all your queries. All delays are hereby regretted.
When I return from a break, I talk to the people who have acted in my stead and get the rundown of what happened/what needs to still be done. That’s part of my whole “back to work triage”.
Click the cog and select ‘Settings’Scroll down to ‘Out of Office AutoReply’Specify a time periodWrite your out of office emailConfirm other details and press ‘Save Changes’
Setting up out of office messages removes the guesswork done by customers when a response doesn’t come back right away.
If a customer is new to your text program, be sure to send them an automated welcome message upon opt-in! Welcome to Barracuda Resorts VIP club! My name is Joy, your personal concierge. If you need anything during your stay please let me know!
Wow- that is rude of her. If you have a phone, you should have voicemail! It’s unprofessional (or at least inconsiderate) to have a mode of contact that just says “sorry, I know you already contacted me, but I want you to contact me again a different way”. Especially if she’s out of the office it doesn’t make sense to turn it off. The entire point of voicemail is so you can listen to the messages when you return…
If it’s anything less than a business day, it just becomes this extra beacon of our completely toxic and out of whack work culture that insists we be reachable every second.
At my current workplace, I got an OOO about someone being on sabbatical and off driving a vintage VW bus. Loved that one. But also got one about someone bringing a tiny human into the world – that was a weird overshare.
Seconded, with one exception: I got one once from a distant coworker which said “I have broken my arm in a kitten-related fall and will be out for (…)”. Everyone else uses boilerplate language so that one definitely stood out, but I thought it was the right level of mildly amusing.
That doesn’t sound odd to me at all, depending on the company. I used to send a staff-wide note because they needed to know I would be out and they could plan accordingly if they needed anything. At my current company I wouldn’t do this, but that’s because it’s massive and I only directly work with a small team.
The marketing tactics of businesses should be focused on customizing the client experience to make each interaction meaningful and valuable. Personalizing your automated replies makes your customers feel good (if you do it right) because it helps you say something that’s actually helpful and targeted.