If you want people to remember that you’re away, do something humorous or different, suggests Misner. “The normal out of office message that says you’re not available and you’re on vacation is fine, but not memorable,” he says.
Welcome to the first blog in our new miniseries, ‘Big Little Things,’ where we highlight some of the smaller features and enhancements in Vtiger CRM ...
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Part of me would really appreciate an OOO that says, “I can’t get back to you today because I’m out robbing a bank.” Part of me would dread that, because I’d probably become that person’s court-appointed attorney.
Unfortunately, I can’t answer your email (even though my office is three feet away). I’ll get back to you once I’m back from my long-awaited trip to the fridge. Bought tickets on TripAdvisor and everything.
Sounds like it’s clear in your mind what you want to happen, but I’ve heard plenty of people say, “Of course you took it somewhere else, that’s what I told you to do, and now I have two action-less emails to trash rather than one.”
At my current workplace, I got an OOO about someone being on sabbatical and off driving a vintage VW bus. Loved that one. But also got one about someone bringing a tiny human into the world – that was a weird overshare.
Happy holidays! I am currently out of the office, with no email access. I’ll be returning on (insert date) and will get back to you as soon as I can. Happy holidays!
If you don't see the Automatic Replies button, follow the steps to use rules to send an out of office message. Set up an automatic reply
While I am out of the office, here’s our awesome e-book on “How To Choose The Right CRM For Your Business”. It’s free; enjoy it!
Leaving an email without a responder can appear unprofessional, lose potential business and, worst of all, make you look like Scrooge!
Setting Up Vacation and Holiday Call Rules [Video] If you’re going on vacation or closing your business for a holiday, you can set up special call rules with RingCentral. Call rules can dictate anything from forwarding calls to another extension, playing a customized message, to shutting off voicemail.
Others like to take the opportunity to inject a little personality and make the reader smile, like our very own Rachael’s summertime out-of-office:
But traveling for work, then I say “intermittent access” so that I only need to respond to the urgent emails and can ignore everything else for a few days.
I have a colleague who usually does different ones for internal and external: internal will be “I’m currently in the pouring rain in a tent in the Cotswolds. I get back (hopefully without trenchfoot!) on Monday Date. Whilst I’m getting soggy please contact Email Address.” and external is just “I’m on annual leave between X and Y and will not be accessing my email. Please contact Email Address if you need assistance during this time.” We all really like their internal ones.
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You should avoid technical jargons Avoid complex vocabulary that creates confusion Maintain a friendly tone
But let’s talk out-of-office messages: overshares, excessive detail, the ones that self-aggrandize (I once had a coworker whose auto-replies often said he’d be in late because he “pulled an all-nighter” on various work projects, etc.), the ones that never get turned off, people who don’t use them at all, and other pet peeves.