I’m on PTO (Holiday) from the 28.09 until the 02.10 working again on the 5th of October, due to this my response will be delayed.
Yeah, announcing you were going to delete emails unread and expecting the sender to resend when you return would NEVER fly in my office. I’d get executive complaints about that, especially if it went to a client or outside party – if a client can’t reach you, they will reach out to someone else who may not work at your organization and you lose business. I feel like this delete-it-all philosophy would only work for an entirely internal role where timelines are more relaxed, and even then, I feel it’s a bit unprofessional to foist your own catch-up work onto others, especially if they’ve been backfilling for you while you were OOO.
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I’m not sure I agree. Just as it’s part of the job for someone to handle their emails, it’s also part of the job for the sender to make sure that their request is sent to someone who is available.
The other being I did it once at my current job, pointed them to my boss, and he called me every time someone reached out to him. It was SUPER annoying, because not a single thing was time sensitive or really even remotely important, and if I hadn’t given a contact person they would have just waited. But I’m really the only person that does that I do, so when I’m gone, they just have to wait. :shrug:
Very true, if the options came in reverse order (or maybe emergency first followed by not-urgent followed by urgent) that would be a little better.
You Need A Better Out Of Office MessageWe don't need professional politeness. We need honesty.
They weren’t saying that’s the entirety of their message, just that that’s the phrase they’re using instead of ‘out of office’
Who says an autoresponder needs to be impersonal? You can use your OOO message to continue building a relationship with present and potential customers by showing off the knowledge and products you have to offer. You can include a case study, a downloadable to your latest report, or a link to an excellent blog post you published. Not only does this further your credibility, but it also allays the feelings of frustration customers might feel while not being able to reach you.
25. "Hello! Thanks for reaching out to [company]. We're closed today for the holiday, and will reopen tomorrow. If you leave your name, number, and a brief message, we'll give you a call when we're back in the office. Thanks again, and have a great day."
Did you email me about [SERVICE]? Great! Read what our customers are saying about how awesome their experience has been. [LINK TO TESTIMONIALS]. Best Regards.
Hello, Our office is closed for holidays from [date] through [date] and returning on [date]. Through this period we will not be able handle any enquiries. If you need immediate assistance, please contact [name] at [email] or call [phone number]. Otherwise we will respond to all emails as soon as possible once we return to the office. Warm regards.
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An away message will generally be a 160-character auto-reply message that can be turned on or off as needed.
If you're looking to embark on a website build project, whether it's completely from scratch or a site refresh, our ebook will give you the knowledge to make your project as stress-free as possible. How to Setup Automated Email Responses for Gmail and Outlook
Those of us who are back in the office haven’t bothered plugging most of the phones back in. We aren’t in roles where we get phone calls, those people are still mostly WFH. There is one persistant caller who does not seem to comprehend ‘X is working from home – please email them’, but that’s the only call we ever get.
Oh heavens no. All I ask of an out of office is that it tells me when the person will be back (if known) and who I can contact in the interim.
If the visitors land your website after business hours or during holidays and do not get any response they might slip away. They could be important sales leads and losing them can impact your business.