Thanks for your email. I’m currently offline, returning on [date]. I’ll respond to your message then.
That’s basically my OOO message also. I’ll admit, I haven’t checked my office phone in weeks for VM, because anyone internally (or externally with any brain) would IM or email, and any spam calls can just sit in my VM.
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Auto-attendants with a customized holiday greeting can be a festive way to mark the occasion. If you have a retail business, create a holiday greeting to inform customers of any limited-time sales you are offering. If your office is closed for the holiday, be sure you state this in your message.
An out of office message shows your professionalism by informing others of your unavailability. Such messages generally include an apology for the inconvenience, a reason for not replying right away, the time the receiver can expect a response and an alternative person they can contact if there is something urgent.
She continues: “However, there should be a way for whoever is emailing you to have an urgent request handled, and that should be included as part of your OOO as well as being known to your work team (supervisor and colleagues). That might look like including a coworker's email on your OOO or it might simply involve setting a forwarding rule for while you're away, so that your email goes to the colleague who's covering.”
Dear Customer, Our office is closed and you can expect to hear back from me by [date]. Have a great holiday! Regards [Name/signature]
As to who you choose, you might consider listing a coworker, your supervisor, or an on-call number if available. Just make sure to clear this with whomever you pick as a support person so they’re aware they’re backing up your calls and emails for emergent situations.
5. Out of Office Template #5 For the Person Who Will Be Checking in (Reluctantly) Hello, I’m out of the office until [date]. However, I will be taking periodic breaks from binge-watching everything I’ve missed to check my email [once per day/every evening/occasionally] while I’m away.
Being a responsible netizen or professional in the Internet age also means leaving useful clues and messages for your email correspondents whenever you will be out of reach temporarily or permanently. Remember that your email correspondents expect you to respond within minutes or, at most, 24 hours of receiving their emails unless specifically stated in the email that you are free to respond much later.
The marketing tactics of businesses should be focused on customizing the client experience to make each interaction meaningful and valuable. Personalizing your automated replies makes your customers feel good (if you do it right) because it helps you say something that’s actually helpful and targeted.
Out of office messages can be as concise or detailed as you need but should follow a standard structure. Here are two templates you can use to create your own message.
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I will be out of the office celebrating Canada Day (July 1), World UFO Day (July 2nd), Tom Cruise’s Birthday (July 3rd) and July 4th (July 4th.) It’s also National Picnic Month so let’s just reconnect in August, shall we?
An out of office message is basically a quality of life feature both for you and your business contacts. By warning your clients that you won’t be able to reply to their message right away you save the time they might have wasted on follow ups. You also won’t lose prospects who might’ve believed that you’re ignoring their request otherwise.
8. Standard Out of the Office Email Template. [Greeting] I will be out of the office beginning on (Date of Leave) through (Return Date). For all time-sensitive matters, please contact (Contact Person) at (Contact Email Address).
It’s possible I might quote from some responses to this in an upcoming column, so please note if you don’t want me to do that with yours!
“Ideally, an OOO should include the basics,” says work and wellbeing psychologist Kate Sullivan. “The dates you'll be gone, an approximate timeline for when someone can expect to hear back from you upon your return, and how any urgent requests will be handled in your absence.”