Others like to take the opportunity to inject a little personality and make the reader smile, like our very own Rachael’s summertime out-of-office:
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.
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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?
In my much, MUCH younger days, I printed out a photo of a cruise ship with an arrow and “I am here” pasted on it and taped it to my monitor…
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.
Going beyond being formal and functional with your messages, you can also add a note of festive mood to your email if you feel like being creative. To this purpose, you can adopt a lighter tone, while referencing the holiday in question.
Click the File tab at the top-left corner of the Outlook display. Click the box to Automatic Replies box to the immediate left of the Automatic Replies (Out of Office) text. In the Automatic Replies box that appears, click the circle to the left of the Send automatic replies option.
The subject line. This is the very first thing your customer will see, before they even open your email. The opener. The first line is what greets the customer as soon as they open your email. The “thank you” The body. The email signature.
That said, I promised my wife that I am going to try to disconnect, get away and enjoy our vacation as much as possible. So, I’m going to experiment with something new. I’m going to leave the decision in your hands:
I'm probably in the middle of a tree farm right now, getting covered in tree sap, so my hands would stick to my keyboard if I tried to respond to your email. I'll respond to your email once I am back at work on [date].
Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You might remember me from such out-of-office messages as Avenge My Death if I Don’t Return from DMEXCO and Bye Now, I’m on an Absurdly Long Cycling Trip.
Any correspondence (email or phone calls) sent my way will be responded to within 2–3 days of my return.
When you turn on the DND mode from Control Panel does the auto-reply go to ALL incoming messages and calls or only to those saved in your Contacts? Apple reps have given contradictory answers to this.
Automatic replies help to stay connected to customers even if the particular channel is not available at that moment. When you are out of the office or busy, it is extremely helpful to provide personalized messages as it gives satisfaction and positive brand experience.
Oh shoot. You need something and I’m unavailable today. Here’s the good news: you have options.
Josh Kopelman’s vacation email is a classic example of taking a blunt approach at OOO messages.
In case of emergency, you can contact me on my cell phone, where I will answer as soon as possible.