While the sender waits for your response to their email, take the sting out of your absence by involving them in a holiday survey, like the one below.
I am off for the week on a beach, proving myself that science is right when it says sharks attacks are rare. I will be safe to get back to you but your email may get swallowed by my inbox. Please add all finished lists on the board as you can see John if you have any questions. If it’s urgent send to [email protected] and if you are just bored, here are some facts to know,
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“Hello, I am out of the office from [date] to [date] for a family vacation. I have limited access to phone and will try to reply to you upon my return. If you need any urgent information, please contact [person] at [phone number]. Happy holidays!”
When customers receive automated messages, they have expectations about the wait duration (in terms of number for e.g. 4 mins or 4th position), that can make or break their customer service experience.
A separate after-hours attendant menu can inform callers that your office is closed, state your business’ operating hours, and provide options that callers can immediately act upon. For example, you can direct them to your website for FAQs. If your business provides an account login page, remind your customers that they can login at any time to get general account information. In this situation, be proactive.
Imagine if you contacted a business for support and have not heard back from them for a few days. Isn’t it a frustrating situation? This is one of the common scenarios many customers face as businesses fail to understand problems by putting themselves in clients’ shoes.
I say “as soon as possible,” which to me means “as soon as possible after I get back to the office, make myself a coffee, throw out the milk I forgot in the fridge, chat with my colleagues a bit, check in with my boss, and triage all the new emails and VMs that came in while I was away.”
SpecializationsOur FocusEngineeringCAD Design / DraftingInformation TechnologyRenewable EnergySoftware Developer Recruiting
With all that in mind, read on for a few examples of what you might actually write...
Ted Lasso’s leadership lessonsBeware the pitfalls of the post-pandemic hybrid eventCSR careers finally come of age — and are breaking sector boundariesWhy do businesses keep trying to find a ‘magic’ playbook?Business book of the year 2021 — the shortlist
So, professionals are expected to use out-of-office email autoresponders whenever they will be out of reach for a fairly long time.
A relatively unprofessional one — like mine, for instance — does the opposite: It encourages prospects, recruiters, and potential connections to run in the other direction.
When one of my colleagues is out of the office, he doesn't mess around. In fact, he's turned his auto-responses into a running series of commentary from fictional cartoon character Troy McClure.
Oh gosh. You’ve just reminded me that I was supposed to change my VM before every vacation or holiday at my old job. Something I completely forgot to do after the first year. Whoops!
Thanks so much for your email. I’ve decided to take advantage of the holiday weekend and truly take [Monday/Friday] off. In an effort to come back fully recharged, I won’t be checking my email. Don’t worry though, if it’s urgent, you can reach out to [name] at [email address].
I appreciate your email. Currently, I am out of the office but will return after (Date of Return). My access to email will be limited during this period of time.
Uh… until when? Who should I contact in the meantime? Also, at the time of my emailing this person it was March, so I had to assume that OOO was from last year?! I finally learned that the person had left to another job. So many questions.