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…
After all, most of us long to fully detach while we’re away and we know it’s the healthier and more restorative thing to do. Yet we’re concerned that actually doing so might appear reckless or irresponsible to our clients and colleagues.
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Thanks for calling [Company Name].For more information about our products, press 1. If you have troubleshooting questions, press 2. For billing questions, press 3. For a Dial by Name directory, press 4. For our regular business hours, press 5. If you know your party’s extension, please dial it now. For all other inquiries, please stay on the line, and a representative will be happy to assist you. 5. Offering the Operator First
Whether your go for professional or funny, the most important task of this email is to clarify communication. A well-prepared auto-responder email will allow you to better enjoy your holiday break.
For all pressing matters, please contact [Contact Name] at [contact email] for assistance.
And, although it’s fine to include certain details (e.g. what you’re doing), it’s vital to keep it professional. After all, this email will be sent to anyone who contacts you – so it’s not the place for inside jokes.
You crossed everything off your to-do list and cleared out your inbox. There’s one last thing for you to do: Write and activate the out-of-office message on your email.
But what if you’re only taking off one day? Sometimes, it might seem silly to bother with an out-of-office for such a short amount of time–especially if it’s a day that a lot of other people are taking off (such as a national holiday). If people do need you to get back to them urgently, they’ll think they’re being ignored. (Even if you define “urgently” differently.) And if there’s a chance of an emergency landing in your inbox, it’ll be that much harder for you to unplug because you’ll just keep “checking in.”
My snarky colleague sure did in his out-of-office message below. We send thank-you letters in response to holiday gifts, so it's only natural to expect the same gesture in our work inboxes …
When we have people go on maternity leave we normally arrange with them for mail to be forwarded directly to the person covering their leave, (but I’m in the UK so normally they will be out for 6-12 months)
If you super, duper need to contact me, you can find me on Facebook or Twitter and use the hashtag #I’mGonnaRuinYourVacation
I once had a coworker who attempted to put up an OOO for all of busy season that basically said “I’m busy with urgent deadlines, so please expect a delay in my response.” I think she was asked to take it down.
I’ll be back on [DAY OF WEEK], [DATE]. No explanations, no apologies, no promises to respond, no redirects to other colleagues. It works.
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I will be out of the office starting on (beginning date) and ending on (ending date).
I hope you will be celebrating the season soon. However, if your email is time-sensitive, please contact [Alternate Name] at [alternate email] and one of our busy elves will be happy to help.