I absolutely hate this and it would definitely irritate me if received. I agree with the letter writer that it comes over as condescending and also a bit passive agressive in places. I’m definitely not the audience for this one! Presumably this is an internal only version and the company culture would find this cute / funny.
Thanks so much for your email. I took today off to [rest/relax/travel/spend time with family]. In an effort to come back fully recharged, I won’t be spending today with my phone attached to my hand. (Scary, I know.) Don’t worry, though, because I will be checking in every so often and responding to anything urgent.
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A. Nearly all offices will be closed on Main Campus during winter break; therefore, each department should ensure their telephone messages and out-of-office email replies reflect that their office is closed but resuming normal business hours after New Year's Day. They may also want to note their winter break closure on their webpage.
Thank you for your mail, I am currently out of the office on annual leave, returning October 12th. If your inquiry is urgent, please reach out to (YOUR COLLEAGUE’SNAME);[email protected] for sales/channel-related issues or (YOUR COLLEAGUE’SNAME);[email protected] for technical related questions.
Also, avoid those huge signatures or advertising banners. Normally, your business email closing should be in this order: Best wishes, James Walton Editor-in-Chief Woculus Inc. 234-805-392-8068 ext. 12 [email protected] www.woculus.com. After your consideration, jump a line and write your full name followed by your contact details.
Not me, but a friend of mine once received an OOO that simply said “I am having an out-of-office experience.”
22. "Hi, you've reached [your name, the office of X company]. We're closed until [date]. Please leave your name and phone number and someone will return your call ASAP. Have a great [New Year's, Fourth of July, etc.]."
I remember a phone tree that at the end of the normal boring options there was “To hear a duck press 8”
End your out-of-office response with a way your callers and emailers can stay connected on social media, if you use it for work. This is especially helpful if you keep active social media accounts (like Facebook or Snapchat) and expect calls from leads who may need some nurturing.
If you’re taking a sick leave, make them emphasize by describing how annoying your cold is. If you’re going on an adventure, tell your clients a little bit — just a little bit, don’t be bragging too much — about how excited you are to experience it. This will help build trust with your clients.
Remember that it’s important to choose the tone of your message based on the final recipient.
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Anything worded like Option 1 would never fly at my workplace, exactly because of this. I have colleagues who complain to upper management if their non-urgent tech support questions (that a whole troubleshooting website already answers) don’t get an answer from me or my boss within half a day. And oh, did I mention our job is not actually tech support?
Does your company publish blogs or offer downloadable ebooks, reports, or case studies? If so, add a P.S. to the end of your vacation message linking your readers to some content they can learn from or engage with.
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
You can show just how thrilled you are about your vacation while still providing an apology (of sorts... not really).
This is very useful in situations where you are changing jobs (as an employee) or a former employee has left your company (as an employer or HR manager). Permanent out-of-office emails help to guide correspondents appropriately.