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My European colleagues get an extended summer holiday all at the same time, which means we get OOO notes like this:
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There was a lot of pushback on this, discussion about how big a risk was that really anyway, people saying that John could word his out of office in such a way that people didn’t have to know he was actually away, and if something really was an emergency people would like to know that they have the opportunity to “direct queries to Sam or Dean” so they could be actioned, or make the judgement call that something could wait for John to return.
My snarky colleague sure did in his out-of-office message below. We send thank-you letters in response to holiday gifts, so it's only natural to expect the same gesture in our work inboxes …
In this post, I’ll share what makes a good voicemail greeting — and the best voicemail greeting scripts you can use.
Happy holidays! I am currently getting into the holiday spirit, and so is the rest of the office. I'll be sure to respond to your email when I return to work on Dec. 28, 2020. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you and your loved ones have a joyous holiday. All the best, Lennox Haven Marketing Director
There are a lot of ways to improve your out of office message, but you should first make sure that you covered the most important stuff.
I think the problem is that “at your earliest convenience” is a formulaic convention that uses explicit, almost exaggerated politeness to basically issue a stern direction, meaning “as soon as you possibly can”. When you turn it into “at my earliest convenience” it’s unclear if you mean “whenever it’s convenient for me to get to it” (what the words say) or “as soon as I possibly can” (what the meaning of the formulaic original is). Or else it sounds like you didn’t quite understand how “at your earliest convenience” works.
Our auto-replies to outside people are two or three paragraphs long though, which feels ridiculous but is actually necessary.
So LAME that this is tied to driving mode in iOS. Apple should have the option without needing to be in driving mode or as someone else asked, if I am in AIrplane mode.
I’ve got you covered. I’ve compiled some of the best voicemail greetings you can use for virtually any situation you’ll come across.
Will this work if the phone is in airplane mode? I am hiking in the Sierras with no cell service.
Give complete details of the person they can contact if there is an urgency. If you are in charge of multiple departments, you can add more people along with their expertise area so that customers know who they should reach.
My boss had this problem (outdated message), but it wasn’t his fault. No matter how many times he changed it, it kept reverting to the original message and dates. Even IT couldn’t figure it out.
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I don’t think it’s condescending, but I do find it annoying. I have a coworker who sometimes writes emails in this tone of voice, and it’s honestly way too much.
Incorporating visuals or GIF images to automated reply messages, you have a greater chance of customers reading your emails and completing the desired call-to-action (CTA).Including visuals or GIF images to the automated email messages makes it interesting and appealing to the recipients. Visuals enhance the description of your messages sent to your customers.6. Personalize your automated messages