One day, the boss said I needed to start answering phones, and did not accept my pushback.
It’s possible I might quote from some responses to this in an upcoming column, so please note if you don’t want me to do that with yours!
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Dear Customer, Thank you for your email, but our company is out of office, celebrating [HOLIDAY]. Unfortunately, it means we will not be able to send you any reply until [DATE]. We apologize for the delay but wish you a wonderful holiday season. Best regards.
If you need any help, I'm sure that contacting anyone else in the company will also be a waste of time.
As an employer one of our policies is to Call in absent days not text them in. This hasn’t worked well as employees ( especially young employees) will still text in those types of messages. It would be wonderful to have a feature in the iPhone that allows for instant text response that can be set up for certain contacts( employees). Something similar to an out of office message in email…” I am not receiving text, please call … … …. and speak to me directly”
If you’re out sick or caring for a loved one, you may not feel comfortable sharing the details. You can simply use words like “family situation” or “family matters,” which Smith says automatically garner some goodwill.
Option 2: Get help sooner. If you answered yes to the above question, don’t wait. I have a team of competent humans who look out for me and one another. They can help you too. Work with (insert names here) accordingly. If you need help with scheduling, cut straight to my assistant.
Happy holidays! I am currently getting into the holiday spirit, and so is the rest of the office. I'll be sure to respond to your email when I return to work on Dec. 28, 2020. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you and your loved ones have a joyous holiday. All the best, Lennox Haven Marketing Director
Of course he presumably meant working on a trial – yay for regional preposition differences!
When it comes to the final days before vacation, people tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) those who watch the clock incessantly, and 2) those who are so busy before they leave, they might even forget to put up an out-of-office (OOO) email message.
It’s that time of the year again and you are all set to kick back and enjoy the holiday season. The season to be jolly is just about to begin and you can hardly wait to spend some quality time with your near and dear ones. Bet you can already smell the Thanksgiving turkey and hear the kids singing Christmas carols outside your window, can’t you? All this excitement means you’ll probably end up applying for leaves from work pretty soon or that your company will shut down for the holidays. Either way, feel free to pick up any of the below out-of-office messages to let the people know that you are on a hiatus. Bare Bones A basic out-of-office message should be able to convey three things, namely, the exact dates when you will be unavailable, an alternative contact to reach out to for immediate attention and lastly, when you will be back at your desk to resume business as usual. Hello, Thank you for your email. I’m currently on leave from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY with limited access to emails. For any urgent matters, you can write to [email protected] or wait till I’m back on DD/MM/YYYY for my response. Best, Something Extra Given that the holiday season is a time when people like to splurge, you may want to add a bit about having a sale or product discounts in the body of the mail. This way you can quickly engage with customers and offer them something in return for the inconvenience caused. Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your email. I’m off on vacation from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY. You can expect a prompt reply when I’m back to duty on DD/MM/YYYY. If your query needs immediate attention, you can write to [email protected]. By the way, if you’re looking for a great gift this holiday season, check out our online store(www.yourbusiness.com/offer) for the latest offers. Cheers, Holiday Traffic As a business, every brand out there is going to be doing something different to ring in the holiday season. It might be a new landing page filled with offers or a blog post about what to get kids for Christmas without disappointing them. Whatever may be the case, an out-of-office message is a good cue to redirect some of that busy traffic, out of your inbox and onto your website. Hi there! You’ve caught me at the wrong time. I’m out-of-office from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY. Right now, I’m somewhere on a boat, fishing with my family. I won’t be able to reply to your email till I’m back on DD/MM/YYYY. For emergencies, you can reach out to [email protected]. Meanwhile, you can take a look at www.yourbusiness.com/blog for intriguing articles that may pique your interest. Warm regards, Meet and Greet The Holiday season doesn’t always mean you’re out on vacation. If you’re among the people who work really hard, even during the holiday season, chances are you might be attending a conference or a business meeting out of town. In such cases, you can include the details of the event you’re attending in the autoresponder email and turn it into a networking opportunity. Hey, Bad news is that I’m currently out-of-office from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY. I have limited access to emails and will get back to you by DD/MM/YYYY. Good news is that I’m on my way to attend ‘Event Name’. If you happen to be at the same conference, be sure to visit me at Exhibit # for a quick catch up. Thanks and regards, Product Preview Every customer interaction can become a sales opportunity. Believe it or not, it can be true for situations when you’re not at your desk as well. Along with the out-of-office message, you can add two lines about a standout feature or benefit of your product that will immediately catch the eye of your audience. Hello, Looks like you just missed me. I’m out-of-office from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY on a camping trip with my buddies. Hopefully, I’ll be back by DD/MM/YYYY and will reply to your email then. For any urgent issues, you can write to [email protected]. Did you email me about ? If you did, you can find out all about it here – www.yourbusiness.com/product. Pro tip? It can increase your revenue by 3x and help you manage your team better at the same time. Regards, Social Butterfly Social media is bursting at the seams with posts that celebrate the holiday season. If your business has an active social channel that generates great content, then you should make a mention of it in the out-of-office message. This way you’ll gain more followers on social media and your customers can be delighted with warm wishes. It’s a win-win! Hi there, This is an automated message. I’m currently unavailable at work from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY. If your query can wait, I’ll be back on DD/MM/YYYY and would be glad to take this conversation further. If not, you can reach out to me colleague at [email protected]. Don’t let my absence stop you from getting what you want. Stay on top of our latest promotions by following us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. Use #YourBusiness and get a chance to be featured on our social media pages. Best, Sense of Holiday A good sense of humor never goes out of fashion. A hilarious autoresponder email can break the monotony and put a smile on your customer’s face. You can reference a popular TV series or legends like Batman to drive the point home. After all, who doesn’t like a Batman reference? Hey there, Oops, you’ve reached me at an inconvenient time. I’m off duty from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY and will be able to respond to your email when I’m back on DD/MM/YYYY. If your request is urgent, you can reach out to my partner in crime at [email protected]. Believe me, she’s like Batgirl to my Bruce Wayne at the office. Warm regards, Ode of Office Traditional out-of-office messages are so 2018. 2019 is all about entertaining your customers and adding value to each interaction. A ballad or an ode can be an excellent addition to an out-of-office message. You can surprise your email senders and make a memorable impact even while you’re away from work. Hello, Many Thanks, Packed with Emojis New Age tech is all about how you make someone feel. With that said, plain text notes can be a drag to read. Consider the use of emojis to amp up your EQ and create a unique impression with your out-of-office message. Hi, Shucks, you’re out of luck. I’m out-of-office on a (family emoji) excursion from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY. I have limited access to (email emoji) and will be able to reply to you when I’m back on DD/MM/YYYY. For a (rocket emoji) response, you can write to [email protected]. Regards, Mamma Mia Working mums are the Wonder Women of enterprises. You can insert a sweet statement into your out-of-office message announcing your maternity leave to let the people catch wind of your pregnancy. This way, people reaching out to you will be thrilled to see you back in office for a whole other reason. Dear Sir/Madam, I’m out-of-office on maternity leave from DD/MM/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY. The stork is on its way with my little angel and I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world. I’ll probably be back by DD/MM/YYYY and will be able to write back to you then. If you can’t wait that long, you can write to [email protected] for a faster response.
I will surely respond to your email when I’m back in the office. But, if this requires an immediate response, please resend any messages that require my immediate attention with a subject line of “URGENT: [Original Subject]”.
My team had a standard Christmas OOO, because we had international clients who needed reminding that basically the entire country is OOO 25th-1st. The message itself was fairly boring, but the template had “xxxx” as a placeholder for your signoff, and every single year someone would say “I’m not sure I’m comfortable giving our clients that many kisses”
This isn’t about an off-key OOO message, but one where a rogue OOO message drove our department insane for a day and a half.
I’ll be sure to reply to your message when I wade through my inbox upon my return. If your message is time-sensitive, please send an email to [contact name] at [contact email].
We have one key administrative assistant who works part time and I always forget — I appreciate that she sets an OOO every day because her department is very deadline driven and it helps me to remember that if I need something from them, I need to connect with her in the morning. We also have some staff who work the school year calendar and others who are year round; the OOO is so helpful in the summers!
There’s a term that we like to use around here called “snowbirds,” which is used to describe those who once resided in the northern part of the U.S., only to flee to warmer parts of the country during the winter.