Dear Customers. We, the employees of this office are going to take our days off from the 25th of December to the 5th of January 20XX in lieu of Christmas and winter vacations. Your needs are Supreme to us so one of our representatives will be available 24/7 in case of answering any query you may have. Feel free to contact us on the following number [X].
You’ll find everything you need to set up an out of office message at the very bottom of the ‘General’ tab there.
.
I am on emergency leave for today with no access to emails and phone calls. Hence, kindly expect a delayed response. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
If you think someone else at First Round Capital might be able to help you, feel free to email my assistant, Fiona ([email protected]) and she’ll try to point you in the right direction.
Some of the people I know that have a lot on their plate are able to deal with a large volume of email with intent and integrity. It’s worth taking a look at how they deal with email so you can model some of their habits. I’ve listed three people below who I know handle their email really well.
Yep. I work with people all over the US so I have no idea who is at home or actually in the office.
Just hang in there, the holiday break is near. Alas! You can finally disconnect, recharge, and relax.
I’d just stick with “I will be OOO without access to phone or email from XX/YY to XX/YY, returning on XX/YY.” And then whatever directions for directing to your support/backup while you are out. I find that specifically saying ‘without access to phone or email’ sets a good expectation of non-response.
Mine says something along the lines of “I’m currently away from my desk, and will be back online on Monday, 7 July…” and (if it’s a longer period and not just the next working day) perhaps also something like “If your enquiry is urgent, please resend to…” so someone else can deal with it.
Yeah, that’s all I need to know when I’m trying to contact someone who’s out. 1) When you’re coming back so I know if my issue can wait, and 2) Where to go if I decide that it can’t.
I’ll be sure to reply to your message when I wade through my inbox upon my return. If your message is time-sensitive, please send an email to [Contact Name] at [contact email].
I’ll be back on [DAY OF WEEK], [DATE]. No explanations, no apologies, no promises to respond, no redirects to other colleagues. It works.
Ha – I didn’t watch the video but still definitely get the condescension! It’s a LOT of extra explaining and direction when something like, “if you need immediate assistance, please contact Fergus at…” will do. In my opinion, cutesy stuff like this is mildly entertaining at the beginning but gets dumb/annoying shortly thereafter. Not just with OOO messages, but other instances where companies try to make being “cool/funny/laid back” parts of their brand in really obvious ways.
I go with “offline” or “away” (away…to my couch). I like closing the door, though!
6.) Bienvenue chez John Doe. Notre service téléphonique n’est pas occupé pendant les vacances. Les heures d’ouvertures peuvent être trouvés sur notre site www.johndoe.de. Nous vous remercions pour votre confiance et nous vous souhaitons d’agréables vacances et une bonne nouvelle année.
I’m extremely busy watching Home Alone, Die Hard, and the 1994 Ninja Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Christmas Special on repeat until the new year.
Note: While you could test your out-of-office message, you can also see it’s working because Gmail conveniently overlays a yellow bar at the top of your inbox reminding you that your autoresponder is on, along with options to “End now” or adjust your settings.