Holiday Planning

Holiday Planning

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Like many Awebbers I am a one man band.

I just wondered how you other guys got around holidays.

Mrs G has managed to get 3 weeks of the summer holidays off and is expecting

me to do the same, options as I see it are:

  1. Clear down you desk in run up to holiday and tell them you will be away for 2 weeks and you will deal with any queries when you return.
  2. Don't tell them you are going away, and mange contact via email and mobile to give the impression you are still working full speed.
  3. Somewhere mid way where you let bigger clients know you are away and can take urgent calls and emails when convenient.

I look forward to your responses as off to find my flip flops.

  

Replies (7)

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By mrme89
12th Jun 2014 17:07

If you say you are going away but will pick up your mobile for urgent calls, I'm sure you will receive a lot of 'urgent' calls.

 

Send an email to everyone stating when you will be away, and that you will be picking up and responding to urgent emails during that time and that any other emails will be replied to on your return. If you are going abroad, it shouldn't be too difficult to squeeze the odd hour in whilst the family is getting ready etc.

 

P.s. Does Mrs G know you refer to her as Mr G?

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By The Innkeeper
12th Jun 2014 17:12

& remember

if you do take calls and are abroad you could pick up a chunky charge on the overseas part of the call. Why not use a telephone answering service while you are away who could e mail you messages . We used to use Moneypenny who had a special deal for holiday situations.

It is important though to have a complete break for a few days at the beginning. I have just comeback from a holiday with Mrs Innkeeper and I did not look at e mails for the first five days (including the first weekend!)

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
12th Jun 2014 17:40

.

I dont tell people in advance as it "worries" them a little.

I tell people for whom I am actively doing work only. 

I am off next Friday.

I have told people who I am working with RIGHT NOW that I am away, and I need stuff in to get it done etc. Ditto monthly tasks such as VAT, I tell them at the start of the month there is no slippage this month as I will be playing with toddlers and sand come the end.

I have an assistant so she will deal with emails/calls in my abscence and call me if its really important. 

but when I was on my own I set up an auto-reminder for the email with a "I am back on XYZ email", and ask they email a different account saying "URGENT" in the title line if they really need me right now. Emergencies only.  They never, ever do, short of the baliffs showing up. I also leave a specific answer machine message too saying "office closed until XYZ"

I always tell people I am back 24 hours after I actually am, and going at midday even if I intend to work all day on the final day. 

The only post will be from HMRC, and they can wait 4 weeks

Never had any fall out from this, usually warm wishes

I only ever lost one client from being on holiday, I went for a month over xmas to oz and I had to tell them as we spoke once or twice a week. All the other clients just thought I was really busy with SA deadlines. Its a perfect excuse! I just spent one day a week of my holiday on emails to keep people happy. 

 

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Replying to atleastisoundknowledgable...:
Red Leader
By Red Leader
12th Jun 2014 18:07

always tell them

If I go away for a week or more, I always send out an email to all clients to let them know.

The email goes out about 10 days before I leave, so I have time to deal with any requests "oh can you do this before you go?". I also aim to get my work pretty much bang up to date before leaving as well, even if this means working long hours (I normally tend to avoid working long hours).

A few clients have contacted me when I'm away. These are usually the ones who didn't read the email and they then say "sorry, didn't realise, it can wait until you get back."

I agree with ireallyshould - set up auto responders, and "tell people I am back 24 hours after I actually am, and going at midday even if I intend to work all day on the final day."

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Replying to ILAB:
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By The Innkeeper
12th Jun 2014 18:14

@red

I do exactly the same as your last paragraph. Also my out of office invites clients to resend e mails after my return so that they are not missed amongst all the other stuff ( inc A Webb !)

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By User deleted
12th Jun 2014 18:03

Only if

Only tell them you'll reply to urgent stuff if you're happy to reply to non-urgent stuff. Because their definition of urgent will not be yours. When I moved house I told clients I'd be uncontactable for a week (didn't know when the phone / broadband would be sorted, and computer was packed up until flooring was done downstairs) but they could email and I'd get back to them as soon as possible. Needless to say one decided that he was far too important and rang me on the mobile with a not-remotely-urgent query. [***].

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By Rachael-SimplifiedAccounting
12th Jun 2014 18:04

Varies ...

I try to clear my desk before I go by managing the work in so that it can stay sat on their desk rather than mine, but it doesn't always work.

Anyone who I am completing work for but hasn't got it to me in time for me to finish before I go is told I will be away for these dates, your late, it will wait (in politer terms!!).

Those that don't need to know just aren't told!

I set up an out of office but if any of the campsites have free wi-fi then I will pick up emails (we tend to be abroad) but that is more to delete the junk and anything really urgent will get a one line reply.

I had one client who was down right rude to me for daring to be on holiday during school holidays and I gave him the boot as I don't need to work with people like that! It was the same client who had stropped at me for cancelling a meeting at short notice due to a vomiting child being sent home from school .. they believed they were more important than she was .. family comes first, go away, enjoy the break and ignore the emails etc as much as possible! :-)

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