How's that for an out-of-office message? Probably not ideal. As a working professional, emails are your lifeline. And even when you're not around to respond, you need to let senders know you're not actually ignoring them.
I am currently on annual leave and I return to the office on Monday 21st September. I will reply to your email as soon as possible.
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Our office will remain closed from [date] to [date] for the New Year celebrations. We assure you that all your emails will be responded as soon as we are back to the office. Happy New Year!
Before I implemented this system, I got *way* too many calls asking if so-and-so was out of the office that day when an OOO tells them that Bob will be back in three hours and to call Sue in the interim. The OOOs have reduced status check calls to practically zero, and the OOO preview pops up in our system as soon someone’s email is entered.
I wouldn’t hate voicemail so much if people were better at leaving voice mails– If your voice mail is much longer than 30 seconds, you’re doing it wrong! If it’s just “It’s Bob, call me back”, you’re also doing it wrong! The voicemail sweet spot is something like this:
Thank you for your message. I am currently out of the store on holidays, with no access to email. I will be returning on (insert date).
Hi, I am out of the office for my annual year-end vacation and will not be able to check my mail until after the New Year. Have a Happy New Year!
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.
Don’t be afraid to use a pop cultural reference that the audience would recognize. Instead of bemoaning your absence, they’ll have something fun and familiar to laugh at.
A. International House’s front desk will be open for students 24 hours each day throughout winter break, except on the holidays – Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. However, there will be professional staff on call 24 hours a day throughout the break to adequately serve students. The Front Desk may be contacted at 419.530.1600; this phone will be answered 24/7, even when the desk is closed on both holidays.
Optionally, complete the fields in the Usage Conditions section. Click here for a description of each field. You can use these fields to tell eDesk to auto-respond with this template only for tickets that match these fields, e.g., tickets for a particular marketplace.
Please note that I will be completely disconnected from email and will not be checking messages until I return. So, if you need urgent assistance, please send an email to [Contact Name] at [contact email].
As a part time person, I now put an OOO on my non-work days since I was getting snarky comments about slow response times. (People don’t realize I’m part time and my position is not suited at all to it.) Dude, I didn’t respond because I don’t get paid to work on Fridays.
If they have to leave an OOO message for being out for an hour for a meeting, clearly it is A Big Deal in that office :(
If you’re experiencing a higher text volume than normal, be sure to have a volume auto-text on hand to help buffer the traffic. Thanks for your message! We’re experiencing a higher volume of texts than usual. You can expect a reply within 12 hours.
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I think I started following that Tiktok account after this video and, if I recall correctly, the OOO writer is an SVP who is trying to reset a company culture that has very little work/life balance. I always liked it, but that background info made me love it that much more.