My personal voicemail says that I prefer emails or texts when possible, and please leave a voicemail only as a last resort but either of the other two options will have a much faster response rate. I think I’ve gotten two voicemails in the last year.
Also, you need to know your audience if you are going to go eccentric. Alison mentions that this message is fine in their culture, but it wouldn’t npbe appropriate for my somewhat formal field. And even if your workplace in general is casual, you might be contacted by someone outside. (In a tiny provincial courthouse I served in the past, there is a story going around that in the 80s a junior but elderly clerk used to address phone callers as hun and sweetheart and generally speak very informally. Most people thought it was funny, and then the President of Supreme Court called and… he didn’t).
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My favorite one that I’ve heard is from TV. “You’ve reached {name}. I can’t answer. Don’t waste my time.”
Website: https://www.snaprecordings.com/blog/preparing-your-business-messaging-for-covid-19-impact
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.
Website: https://smith.ai/blog/28-business-voicemail-greetings-for-main-office-and-personal-numbers-formal-informal-modern-and-just-hilarious
I don’t use the OOO. If you’re supposed to be able to reach me by email, I have already proactively notified you of my absence. If you’re not supposed to be able to reach me by email, your email is already in the junk folder and I think it’s cruel to offer you false hope I’m going to read it upon my return from the rare PTO I take.
Once they realize that your office is currently closed, the most important piece of information they probably want to know is your standard business hours. While this information can be tucked behind a phone menu option, it's best to state it upfront in your after hours recording.
I just say that I’m out of the office. Practically, it makes no difference where this office is located.
Depending on what provider you use for your text marketing software, the step-by-step instructions for setting up an away message varies. You can find ours here.
I believe that it’s happened more than once. This news items includes a video with some other examples – ‘Wine and ghosts ‘ is my personal favourite. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/man-responsible-welsh-translation-gaffe-15214716
If you’re anything like I am, you probably fall into team two. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to get creative. But if you plan ahead, you might be able to craft some hilarity.
Sometimes people will think it’s okay to ask a quick question while you’re out of the office. Avoid the interruption by including at least one person who can answer questions in your absence.
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.
I do feel like the person who wrote it may have some issues in their organization with, oh let’s call it fire fighting. People who don’t necessarily think through the process of who would be most effective at dealing with the problem at hand. This reads like the message of someone who is used to getting everything dumped in their email and this OOO is an attempt to manage expectations and distribute issues to the people most able to quickly and effectively deal with a range of problems
Additionally, you can reference a person in charge of your business while you are way:
Although out of office emails are usually used when a person’s on holiday, they can also be used in a number of other circumstances.