One of my co-workers, who was involved in a lot of committees and consequently got even more than the usual share of email around my place, put up an OOO message that said she was going to be “on pot for the week of the 15th.”
1. "Hi, you've reached [your name] at [your company]. I'm unavailable right now — probably helping [type of company] get [X results, e.g. ‘double their leads in 60 days,' ‘hire the best and brightest engineers,' ‘convert 40% more customers.'] Leave your name and number, and we'll discuss how your company can see similar results."
.
Thanks for writing! You can expect a response to your note in 1-2 business days. While you’re waiting—surprise! Here’s something I made for you: [Include a worksheet, tool, video, blog post, checklist, resource list, or whatever you’d like!] I hope [name of thing] makes your day a little brighter and easier. Thanks for your patience, and talk to you soon!
Obviously, I need to update it. And if you haven't changed your voicemail greeting in over a year, you're likely in the same boat.
Yes – it’s become a stock phrase that people think sounds polite but they’re not grasping the nuance of it.
Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
Hey, I am currently out of office. If something urgent comes up, you can email [name and email]. Kind regards.
Pro-tip: You can also create a new template from a copy of an existing template by selecting the ellipsis at the top or the ellipsis in a row. Note: Template Type isn’t used for OOO templates, so you can leave it unchanged.
Hello, our office will remain closed for during the Christmas period. We assure you that all your emails will be responded to as soon as we return to the office. Merry Christmas! Regards, [Name/Company name]
4. "Hello, you've reached [your name and title]. I'm currently out on parental leave until [date]. In the meantime, please direct all phone calls to [alternate contact name] at [phone number] and emails to [email address]. Thanks, and I'll see you in [month you'll be back in the office]."
This is so funny to be because I would chuckle getting those! You have personal context which is how you know that there is an aggeressive/accusatory tone….but without that context I would interpret these as boundaried and light-hearted. (With the exception of the ‘momtears’ one, that would feel overly personal to me.)
Yes! I remember reading here the phrase: the default mode of clever is asshole. Meaning when trying to be clever backfires, you end up just looking like an asshole. I’ve given up the need to get laughs at my clever sense of humor while at work. I really hope that out of office message is for internal emails only, because the risk of this landing badly is too high.
It doesn’t work when a group text is sent, is their a workaround for that situation?
Thanks for the email!. I’m currently out of my office and will be back at 11th of May. I will have very limited or no access to my email.
So I thought I had a solution, but when I tested, I realized I don’t have access to my phone at all unless I turn off DND. UGH! Defeats the purpose. Is till want access to my maps, apps, safari and social media while on vacation.
Here’s one example out in the world, which jumpstarted me thinking about this topic:
The auto-reply will stop on the date you set for it to stop. If you did not set a start and end date, it may be using a date that is already past. Check this in Gear Icon>Automatic Replies>End Time.