Not an OOO issue but the comment about PTSD from OldJob reminded me of this. I am a recreational sailor who often made longer offshore trips as my vacation. OldBoss INSISTED that we provide contact instructions. Mine was some variant of “Dial O and ask for the Marine Operator. Give them [name of boat], [call sign] and [approximate location by date] along with your name and credit card number. We will be monitoring Channel 16 at these times…..” Never got a call. Word spread and there was a sudden epidemic of sailing vacations in my office!
An out of office message lets you keep people informed and tells them how to proceed in your absence. You can also select options for urgent matters within your out of office message.
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That is kind of glorious. And it does make sense when the person you’re emailing is gone for months. I did something similar my last mat leave except I didn’t explicitly state it, and lo and behold, people figured out that I wasn’t going to catch their email from a month or so earlier unless they brought it up again.
I worked for a federal contractor back during the Great Recession when government offices were shut down/working with a skeleton crew. I still remember getting OOOs from almost every email address in the agency we worked at explaining they were on furlough & to contact one specific person if the issue was urgent. We all assumed this poor person was hiding under her desk, rocking back & forth, with her head in her hands.
(Email Signature) 3. Memorial Day Closed Email. Our office will be closed on Monday, May 31st in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, June 1st at 8:00 a.m. Our sincere gratitude to those brave men and woman who have served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Best regards, (Email Signature) Overview: Your Memorial Day
Including even a passing reference stating that your customer’s email is important to you shows your appreciation for the message that you are currently unable to respond to.
Website: https://www.mail-signatures.com/articles/compose-perfect-christmas-email-signature/
Humorous Vacation Message. While you shouldn’t use a vacation message like the first example in this article, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a little bit of fun with your emails.
My boss does not understand OOO and thinks I saw his email and sent the reply personally and does not understand why I didn’t answer the actual question.
My coworker tends to set his OOO for people to contact me, but he never bothers to tell me he’s going to be out of town and people may be contacting me. I’ll find out when I happen to email him and get the response. Not a huge deal, but the heads up would be nice! What if I was also on vacation?
If you work with regular clients, then you may want to send holiday messages to clients to help maintain these important relationships. Reminding clients that you are there for them through these brief messages can go a long way to creating goodwill with these pivotal connections.
The vice-chancellor of [X] University is extremely pleased to announce the winter vacations from the 25th of December to the 6th of January 20XX. All the offices of the University Campus enclosed for the said period. Have a safe holiday and enjoy the break.
My snarky colleague sure did in his out-of-office message below. We send thank-you letters in response to holiday gifts, so it’s only natural to expect the same gesture in our work inboxes …
If you are reading this, it is because John Whatsisname cannot help you – he has left the company and no longer uses this email address.
By completing these items, you alleviate any concerns that may arise during your closure. This also ensures your business continues providing transparency to your customers. No misunderstandings.
Don’t you wish you were here? I’m snorkeling, deep sea fishing, and doing all the touristy stuff for the entire week starting Monday, November 12th. I won’t be responding to calls or emails until I return on Monday, November 19th.
My boss had this problem (outdated message), but it wasn’t his fault. No matter how many times he changed it, it kept reverting to the original message and dates. Even IT couldn’t figure it out.