“Out of Office…maybe on a beach”

Summer is finally upon us. If you are anything like me, then you already have your time off scheduled. Whether you are planning a vacation or a little ”staycation”, you most likely will want to let your co-workers and business clients know that you will be unavailable.  Sending out a personal email message to each of your contacts may not be possible, but by setting up an auto-responder you can create an illusion that your away message is being personally sent to all the VIP’s who need to know your whereabouts. What makes an email auto-responder great is once it’s programmed, everything happens automatically.  So for me, that means while I’m away from my computer and enjoying my hard earned relaxation, my business contacts know exactly why I am not responding. Typical auto-responders read something simple like ”I am currently out of the office and I will return on such ‘n such date”.  But recently, I ran across a list of so called Best ‘Out of Office’ Automatic email Replies that make the standard auto-response message seem….well, just a little too usual. 

For instance:

	Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
	You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.
	Sorry to have missed you but I am at the doctors having my brain removed so that I may be promoted to management.
	I will be unable to delete all the unread emails you send me until I return from vacation on 7/18. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

OK, so maybe these aren’t the best email response examples for your use, but the beauty of the auto response feature is you can set up a custom message that is just right for you.  So, regardless of whether you’ll be hiking the hills, sunning on the seashore or relaxing at home, you can eliminate the need to manually respond to your business email messages while at the same time provide the best care for all your email contacts. So go ahead and enjoy a little time off with some good summertime fun!

*TIP: Set a calendar reminder for yourself for the day you return to the office from your vacation to turn off your auto-responder. The last thing you need after a few days away is to suffer the embarrassment of a co-worker having to remind you, “Dude, you’re not on vacation anymore…turn off your auto-responder.”