This is [NAME’s] bot. [NAME] is indisposed and unable to respond to your email. I’m replying to let you know that she will return to her desk on [DATE]. It is her intent to attend to your request promptly at that time. Meanwhile, [NAME] leaves you with the following message.Please ponder its significance: “I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.” — [NAME]
Your email is important to me and I will respond when I return to my desk. If you require immediate assistance, please contact [Alternate Name] at [alternate email].
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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.”
She may want to talk to her IT folks to see if they can help her switch this around.
Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately, I will not be able to answer your e-mail from 25.08.2020 until 02.09.2020 Your e-mail has not been forwarded. During my absence please contact my team via this e-mail [email protected], raise a ticket or contact my team leader (YOUR TEAM LEADER’S NAME) [email protected].
That really does feel excessive. I think most people are savvy enough to think, ‘Huh, it’s late in the day for pretzelgirl, I might not get a response until tomorrow. Business as usual.’ Being out of communication for a day – travel, meetings, days off – doesn’t require an out of the office alert, either, just a response as soon as possible.
My office has a shared vacation calendar, which I think is a more helpful way to handle this.
I could see the benefit if someone needed to ask something before they left. It seems courteous?
Or, in the case of Samarah Miel, owner of Amarillo Travel Network, her out of office message is a fabulous mix of sales/bonding with others in the industry/promoting her expertise to clients. Bonus points for including a video!
Loads of translators work freelance because it’s very easy to do from home, so yeah I’d not expect then to be standardised. I’ve received English and native language replies, but never both.
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If you’re using Gmail, you’ll find settings for out of office messages by clicking the cog icon on the main screen:
If this matter isn’t time-sensitive, rest assured that I’ll respond when I’m back in the office. But, if this is an urgent request, please resend any messages that require my immediate attention with a subject line of “URGENT: [Original Subject]”.
This information will help the person reaching out to you gauge whether their message can wait for your response or if they need to contact someone else instead.
Closed Signs. Using closed signs is an effective way to inform your clients that your business is closed temporarily, for lunch, due to weather or during the holidays. Stating the reason why your office or business is closed can reduce the frustration of your clients or visitors.
I hate unnecessary out of office messages. You don’t need to tell me you will be out for two hours. If it was that important, I would not be using e-mail!
I wonder if anyone ever calculated how much time was wasted producing those messages.