When it comes to the final days before vacation, people tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) those who watch the clock incessantly, and 2) those who are so busy before they leave, they might even forget to put up an out-of-office (OOO) email message.
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
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AH #2 – Closed with Voicemail. Thank you for calling Business Name. We are currently closed for the Christmas Break and will be reopening for business as usual on Time and Date. If you would like to leave a message, please do so after the tone including your Name and a Contact number and we will be in touch when we reopen.
I’m at Growth Marketing Conference – Are You? Bonjour from France! 🇫🇷Happy Holidays! I’m at home with my family.
My team had a standard Christmas OOO, because we had international clients who needed reminding that basically the entire country is OOO 25th-1st. The message itself was fairly boring, but the template had “xxxx” as a placeholder for your signoff, and every single year someone would say “I’m not sure I’m comfortable giving our clients that many kisses”
That’s weird! I would specifically not say maternity leave, since I don’t want to invite a lot of questions about the birth, baby, etc. when I come back to work. Just let me focus on catching up on my job! (I work with a lot of external clients, though. Internal-only would be different.)
Just hang in there, the holiday break is near. Alas! You can finally disconnect, recharge, and relax.
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So, for whatever reason you’re out of the office, your email inbox should be informative with any information about office closures or unexpected absences: Include an expected return date and time. Offer alternative point of contact and their details. Add the general office contact number and email address if you don’t have a specific point of contact. Be friendly and warm in your tone, even if you choose to keep it simple.
If you have a main email that customers use, set the email out of office message to reflect when you will return and if it is an emergency who they can reach.
Generally, people will indicate that they will reply to the email when they return.
“To the Robotics Corp office, this mail is to inform all the staff and employees that the office will be closed for a week on the occasion of Durga Puja. Through this mail also, I send holiday wishes for all the employees on a superb recreational holiday period. Have a happy holiday.”
So now this email is working overtime with the flood of enquiries, spam, well-wishes, and broken hearts.
I’ve never been a fan of the ones where people basically say “I’m working, but super busy right now, so I won’t get to your email for X (hours, days, whatever). Like, are you THAT busy.
There’s a grim, apologetic vibe to these messages — I’m sorry I’m taking time for myself but I’ll try to check in on occasion! They’re a vivid reflection of a work culture that valorizes constant productivity and the near-total overlap of work and life. But they’re also do a terrible job of what they’re intended to do, e.g., set realistic expectations for both sender and recipient. A vague OOO message traps both parties in an uncomfortable liminal space where both productivity and rest go to die. The original sender is left unsure if they’ll be getting a timely response or a whether the email will go ignored for a time or forever. The original recipient has taken what is a rock solid excuse (time off) and cheapened it, offering a backdoor for email guilt to creep in.
Website: https://www.interimbusiness.com.au/7-ways-to-announce-your-holiday-office-closure-to-the-world/
There are two ways to send automatic out-of-office replies. The way you use depends on the type of email account you have.