Luckily for you, my colleague *Name* generously offered to cover for me. You can reach him/her at *email*.
That’s how I feel about OOO for when I’m only gone one workday. Very rarely am I dealing with anything that can’t wait 2 business days. I only set up OOO replies if I’ll be gone longer.
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Agreed. I think some people don’t analyze the individual words when they hear the phrase. It’s fine to say “please let me know at YOUR earliest convenience” but it’s weird to say “I’ll get back to you at MY earliest convenience.”
An out of office message could become an opportunity to connect with your client on a more personal level. Consider sharing something about yourself that they might not have known about while working with you.
I’ve run into the “no voicemail” thing at a few businesses where phone was the main mode of contact too, and it was hugely frustrating. You call your doctor to ask about, say, a billing issue, and it turns out they’re closed, but then it just says the office hours and “goodbye *click*”. Seriously? Sorry, /end rant.
I deal with this all day. I feel like some property management companies make their managers announce when they’re going to use the bathroom via auto-reply.
Both your customers and your employees need to know how long your business will be shut down for the holidays. Provide notice well in advance. Depending on the types of services you offer, you may need to start notifying customers as early as a month out. It would be best if you were to provide these important notifications at least two weeks before the holiday shutdown. Employees should also be reminded regularly that the company will not be open during those important days.
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.
Long Vacation Message. If you’re going to be on vacation for a week or two, then it’s essential you set up your vacation email. If you miss the odd day, the world won’t implode, but if people don’t know you’re away for a few weeks and they don’t know exactly when you’ll be back, or who they can contact in your place, you’re going to have some unhappy clients or customers.
Right?! If it’s a 3 day retreat, that’s one thing. But not being around for an hour or two shouldn’t be any kind of BIG DEAL.
You can configure automated reply messages to encourage customers to submit their queries.
They happen when you have at least two auto-reply systems set to respond to every single email that somehow start messaging each other.
Yes – this might amuse me if I got it once, but it would get old very fast . Maybe as an internal message if it fit the office culture. If I were an outside client or contractor and got something like that I;d see it as unprofessional (although I get that cultures and industries differ)
I hate the overshare. It drives me nuts. I’ve seen a lot lately that say essentially “After this crazy year I’m spending some much needed quality family time with Jane and the kids doing abc.” yada yada yada. It seems like overkill and way too familiar. You’re spending time with your family-that’s not noteworthy. Just say I’m out this date though this date. Contact person if you have something urgent.
Chatbots are now among the most preferred communication channels between customers and brands. However, not many businesses get their chatbot strategy...
The email I send out always says something along the lines of “I’ll be away Thursday and Friday, so if you need anything from me, please let me know before noon on Wednesday. Thanks!”
Student emails at 3am Saturday morning, then is sends an email Sunday night, miffed you didn’t reply.