I once emailed a colleague in our main office and got an OOO reply that said just: “I am currently out of the office. Please press 0 to reach the operator for assistance”
8. "Hi, you've reached [your name]. I'm unable to come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name, number, and a short message, I'll be sure to call back."
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If you don't want the messages to go out right away, select Only send during this time range.
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].
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.
I’m with you. It comes across as a bit scold-y, like chastising someone for emailing while you’re out and treating them as if their issues aren’t important.
New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic system
I’m currently out of the office for the holidays. While you are reading this response, I am probably: Trying not to laugh at my [relative’s] corny jokes Trying not to get pissed at my [relative] asking me why I still don’t have a boy/girlfriend Attempting to explain my career to my [relative] for the 800th time Trying not to get hungry (I’m probably busy stuffing my face with cookies)
Oh, this reminds me of the best out of office I ever received. It was three years ago, but it was so funny I saved it. All of it was gold but the sign-off was “Hoping that you are at least a little bit jealous (why else should I go on vacations to begin with?), I remain truly Yours, etc”.
Sample out-of-office email message: “Thank you for your message. The University of Toledo is closed for winter break. If your message requires a response, I will reply after New Year's Day during normal business hours. Happy holidays!”
I’m currently out of the office this week as I’ve taken some time off to travel. However, I’ll reach out to you when I’m back.
What’s the best way to spread the festive cheer? Getting your email senders excited about your favourite holiday of course! Here’s a great one: Season’s greetings! It’s my favorite time of the year, which means I’m currently out-of-office stuffing my face with cookies, sipping on cocktails, and watching [your favourite holiday movie] for the 67th time. I’ll be back at work on [date] and will respond to your email then. If you need immediate assistance, the other elves in the workshop are happy to help out! You can reach them at [email] or [phone]. Happy ho-ho-holidays,
Half of the auto-replies I get are for very specific chunks of time. Like, if you are out of the office for three hours I don’t need to know, dude.
I still will get urgent messages from coworkers with multiple follow-ups during my OOO period. Then an angry call or email when I return that the response time was too long. When I check with Jane about the status she says she was never contacted about the issue. I always push back “Why didn’t you contact Jane?” but I think a lot of people in my organization like to shift blame when they are behind on their deadlines. If it was really so urgent, why did you wait a week just to get an answer from me?
I am currently out of the office on leave. Sales inquiries should be directed to Gabriela Cruz at 935.555.3455. Customer support matters should be directed to Miranda Trotman at 935.555.9001.
Need to set up a generic away message for times you’re away from the phone or need to refocus your attention? Simply throw this template up for a few hours to buy yourself some time. Thank you for contacting Lulu’s, you’ve reached Anne. I’m out of the office currently, but I will respond to your message by 3 pm. Thank you for your patience!
Readers, what do you like and hate in out-of-offices replies? Any stories of particularly off-key ones?