4. "Hello, you've reached [your name and title]. I'm currently out on parental leave until [date]. In the meantime, please direct all phone calls to [alternate contact name] at [phone number] and emails to [email address].
Assign different functions to each keypad number to direct your customers where they need to go when they enter a specific number on their phone. The menu that you set for after hours also applies to the holiday schedule.

Voicemails don’t necessarily have to be monotonous or extremely jazzy or funky. What you should be looking for is a balance between the two. Whenever you call someone and their voicemail greeting is playing, it tells you a lot about who they are, as a person. Which is why, you’ve got to put a little bit of “you” when it comes to voicemail. And the best part about all of this is, since you couldn’t come to the phone, at least the callers are having a good time listening to the message.
People get frustrated when you don’t pick up the phone. They also get frustrated when the person who picks up the phone can’t help them, or if they have to wait a long time to talk to someone who can. A phone answering service like a virtual receptionist or call center can help reduce wait times and prevent missed calls, but if they can’t help a caller, your customers will feel like they’re just being passed from one person to another—and most people clearly don’t like that experience.