Check out this message from a HubSpot employee that certainly turns the tables on the email sender. Right when you thought you were the one requesting action, the recipient sent back an assignment — a fun one, at least.
4. Sample Email Reply for Vacations with Phone Number. [Your Greeting] Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office, and I do not have email access.
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I might sound nitpicky but the language is important. “Might” or “may be” or “slower than usual” are vague and don’t offer the sender all that much information about when you’re really going to respond to them. Worse, they do a horrible job of protecting the time of the email receiver who, as the responder notes, is not in the office! Such a responder implies that, not only will the vacationer reply to the email, but they may not even miss a beat. They may be slow to respond, but they also might not.
I actually stopped changing my VM and out of office right before I left, bc I just did’nt care anymore lol. This was only one of a number of things that this company did that was bonkers.
While you certainly don’t want to go on and on in your message, there is an opportunity to engage or educate while you’re away. Here are a few options to potentially include.
If their message is urgent or they’d like to contact someone else instead, you can let them know what to do.
15 Out of Office Messages for Professionals. February 26, 2021. Out of office messages are automatic email replies, or autoresponder email messages, that go out to colleagues, customers and clients when you are away from work. They let others know you are unavailable for contact and when they can expect a response to their emails.
Website: https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/salaries-and-skills/vacation-time-how-to-craft-an-effective-out-of-office-message
It’s kind of a ridiculous OOO anyway since by the time I get it from you, I have already sent my email.
Automated email messages generate a 70.5% higher open rate and a 152% higher click-through rate than standard marketing messages. Briefing what would be the next step of action gives customers transparent information.
I suppose I’d rather know that and be able to factor it in to my schedule, irritating as it is, than not know and get caught by the month-long delay.
I’ll return on [date] or after I watch [favorite holiday movie] one too many times (whichever comes first)—and will respond to your message at that time.
By making this information public, you have unwittingly given a hacker everything they need to complete a Business email Compromise (BEC) scam. In these BEC attacks, the hacker commits fraud by pretending to be a senior employee and will attempt to coerce the recipient into complying with a fraudulent request – such as wiring company money.
Thank you again for being the best team one could ask for. Your energy and persistence has driven our company to new heights, and we greatly appreciate it.
No need to go into great detail that you're traveling to seven different European countries. Simply state whether you're on vacation, at a conference, or on a business trip. This will give the sender a general idea of whether you're be checking your email while you're out. "I'm currently on vacation/at a conference/on a business trip."
“The world is serious enough as it is - people need, and usually appreciate, an unexpected moment of levity in their day,” he says, when quizzed about how recipients might respond to such an OOO. He also confides that he himself has dispensed with auto responses altogether – though not for idealistic reasons. “The last time I tried to set one up, I botched it so badly that somehow it resent every single email in my outbox from the previous year - client emails, firing notices, literally thousands of emails.”
People often forget the power of an out of office message. One could even start their own language, as shown below: