For those of you who deal directly with clients (and receive e-mails from them), what's your etiquette when setting up an out of office automatic reply?
I know people who do it only when going on extended breaks (holidays, sabbaticals, business trips), people who use it whenever they are away from their desks (e.g. going to meetings, even lasting for a couple of hours), and even people who never use it and try to respond to their clients while on holidays etc.
Do you have different rules for times when you are incommunicando and times when you are still, technically, able to check your Blackberry/iphone.
I only use it during vacations. I expect people to assume I am only actually at my desk from 8-5 M-F.
I've got one set for this week because I'm offsite in training. Usually I'll only use it for vacations or when travelling for work.
I let people know that I am OOC. If they can't accept that, fuck 'em.
Out of Crutches?
I generally don't use it. If I take a long vacation, I make sure to check the work e-mail regularly after I come back.
I use it when I am unwilling or unable to reply to e-mails promptly for a working day or more.
I use it if I'm gone for more than a day.
Never.
Depends. Typically only when on long vacation but have been known to use during business hours if I'm going to be away from the net for an extended period of time (~2 hours or so). If I had a blackberry, I'd guess I'd almost never use but thankfully, I do not. :)
Unless people need to get answers from you ASAP using it for less than being a few days away strikes me as overkill.
Quote from: The Larch on January 28, 2013, 03:15:22 PM
Unless people need to get answers from you ASAP using it for less than being a few days away strikes me as overkill.
Well we don't all live in Spain. Many of my clients would be upset if they had to wait several days for me to respond to them. :P
Quote from: garbon on January 28, 2013, 03:23:45 PM
Quote from: The Larch on January 28, 2013, 03:15:22 PM
Unless people need to get answers from you ASAP using it for less than being a few days away strikes me as overkill.
Well we don't all live in Spain. Many of my clients would be upset if they had to wait several days for me to respond to them. :P
That's why I said that it'd depend on people needing answers from you ASAP or not. :p
I have 24 hours to respond to an email, by policy. If I'm going to be away longer than that, I use my out-of-office reply. Otherwise, I do not.
I use it on vacations or when I'm out of the office and incommunicado for a day or more during the work-week. I don't use it to announce I'm away on weekends.
Sometimes I read/sort through the flood of emails eventhough I'm technically "away". What's the etiquette when someone refuses to aknowledge an away message? I'm not sure if she's importunate or doesn't understand it's an automated response...
Quote
Mongers its currently out of the 'office' for an indeterminate, but lengthy period of time.
If you have something important(trivial) to say, please post it on Languish.org and I will attend to it within the hour.
Quote from: The Larch on January 28, 2013, 03:41:54 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 28, 2013, 03:23:45 PM
Quote from: The Larch on January 28, 2013, 03:15:22 PM
Unless people need to get answers from you ASAP using it for less than being a few days away strikes me as overkill.
Well we don't all live in Spain. Many of my clients would be upset if they had to wait several days for me to respond to them. :P
That's why I said that it'd depend on people needing answers from you ASAP or not. :p
:lol:
Quote from: merithyn on January 28, 2013, 03:44:06 PM
I have 24 hours to respond to an email, by policy. If I'm going to be away longer than that, I use my out-of-office reply. Otherwise, I do not.
I'm not sure if we have a policy. I know though that people generally get concerned (or pissy) if I don't get back to them within a couple hours during normal work day.
I only have internal customers and work with suppliers, but I do use it when I am away for at least a whole day. I sometimes use it when I am in, but attend a workshop or training and can only answer mails sporadically.
We don't have a policy that you have to answer e-mails in a certain time. And some e-mails I don't answer at all and just wait if the issue solves itself. :P
More than a day. Typically something along the lines of 'if you need immediate help, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx' so I don't have to deal with it when I get back. :P
Yeah, I'm with the "more than a day" crowd, and even then when I will have my Blackberry and be able to respond at a leisure (e.g. I'm at a firm training with a lot of free time listening to boring stuff, as opposed to vacation or a business trip) I do not set it up.
There are people who set it up when they go for 2-3 hour meetings, but I find it unprofessional.