The eternally mind-blowing story of the company-wide email, OoO messages, and reply-all autoresponders that took out a 30,000 employee university email server one summer, comes to mind here…
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Of course, every message sends a message, even a barebones OOO that seems to say nothing more than that you’re away until next week, so why not try to inject a little personality? You could get quirky by giving your auto-responder robot a personality. You could dispense with words altogether and substitute a gif or emojis. Or how about a little retro concrete poetry – you know, where you arrange your words on the screen to form an image of a palm tree or a pina colada? It might be worth noting here that the amount of personality you inject depends on your trade. What earns you cachet in the creative industries might backfire in the financial sector, for instance.
I think this is great. A little too long, but it would work well as an internal reply in a large office with the right kinda culture. I’m imagining how useful it would be in my previous office with 300+ people that always had some “fire” or another to put out. I also appreciate how it protects the sender’s time off–at no point does it say “ok, fine. contact me.”
“I’ve been whisked away by angry looking men in suits and taken to a small room with one light, a little water and a laptop. I’ve been told to write. I think these men are from my publisher. I’m hoping to be released on Thursday so I can start to responding to emails again.”
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List the full name, phone number and email of an assistant or a coworker who can respond to messages and meet deadlines in your absence. If more than one person is handling your duties, list each one and the reason for contacting them. In some cases, you may consider providing a way to reach you in case of an emergency.
Automatic replies help to stay connected to customers even if the particular channel is not available at that moment. When you are out of the office or busy, it is extremely helpful to provide personalized messages as it gives satisfaction and positive brand experience.
Dear Customer, Thank you for your email Inquiry, Our office closed is closed celebrating [HOLIDAY]. We will not be able to respond to your email until [date]. Apologize for the delay. We wish you a wonderful holiday season. Best regards.
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An out of office email is an automatic response you can set up to be sent when someone tries to get in touch with you whilst you’re away from the office.
Also, you need to know your audience if you are going to go eccentric. Alison mentions that this message is fine in their culture, but it wouldn’t npbe appropriate for my somewhat formal field. And even if your workplace in general is casual, you might be contacted by someone outside. (In a tiny provincial courthouse I served in the past, there is a story going around that in the 80s a junior but elderly clerk used to address phone callers as hun and sweetheart and generally speak very informally. Most people thought it was funny, and then the President of Supreme Court called and… he didn’t).
It took me far too long to realize that trying to be funny at work is overrated, and this reply kind of encapsulates that perfectly. I would just about bet people will like you more, AND they’ll be more likely to follow the guidance you’re offering, if you just do a concise, “normal” OoO.
One of my favorite OOO messages I ever received was from a customer who was a barrister or soliciter (not sure the right term for an English lawyer). It said he would be unavailable because he is “on trial.”
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].
After I tweeted this example, dozens of people sent me examples of OOO messages they’d set or particularly good examples they’d seen in the wild. One example from a boss (via a TikTok) who offers emailers a decision tree of sorts. “Option 1.) Wait it out. Ask yourself, ‘is this urgent and important?’ If not, take a beat…you and I will be better off with this expectation set now,” the email begins. This one stands out because it’s extremely detailed, manages expectations and also offers who to contact in different situations. It models good behavior of taking time off, but also gives the original sender a variety of option. Most importantly, the responder forces the original sender to assess whether this is actually an urgent request.
If that’s truly what you intend, great. But if not, you may want to take a deep breath and try this: “I am currently on vacation and not accepting emails. Please contact x for any issues while I’m away.” This approach is refreshingly honest and clear. And as long as you’re comfortable with the competence and availability of your back-up contact, you shouldn’t feel funny or guilty about going this route at all.