35 Best Business Voicemail Greeting Examples for 2024

When calls come in for your business but no one is available to answer, what happens next? Is it a lost cause? Do you shrug and think, “Better luck next time”? Do you chain a robot to the desk to answer calls in a stilted voice while the humans are off-duty? 

You can accomplish a lot with a simple business voicemail. A well-crafted voicemail greeting can do more to pitch your brand and build goodwill than just about any other touchpoint that doesn’t directly involve a living human. The tricky part is that “well-crafted” bit. But we’re here to help with that. 

In this brief guide, we’ll outline some of the important elements of a voicemail greeting, what to include, and some examples for different scenarios.

Key elements of an effective voicemail greeting

A voicemail greeting can be a lot of things, but it should be at least three things: clear, professional, and to the point. It will need to cover any essential information and should provide unambiguous direction for what the caller should be doing next. A basic template might look like this:

“Hello! You’ve reached [business/department/employee name]. We can’t answer the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and [insert situationally relevant specific details], we’ll return your call [insert time estimate, or “as soon as possible”].”

Here’s a list of a few dos and don’ts:

• Don’t try to pack too much info into the message; people get tired of waiting for the beep.
• Do specify clearly any information that you need the caller to leave in their message (and then expect that many of them won’t).
• Don’t set and forget the greeting; update it regularly, especially if it contains information that’s time-sensitive (everyone’s off-put by a year-end greeting in mid-June).
• Do consider recording in additional languages if appropriate (and if you have staff who can do that).
• Don’t use a greeting that’s confusing, misleading, or easy to misinterpret.

Those are the basics to get you started. Now, let’s take a look at some potential greeting themes and some examples for each. 

General company voicemail greetings

This is your go-to, standard greeting, the one that basically writes itself. Intro, business name, message instructions—it could be as simple as that. 

Some simple examples:

• “Thanks for calling McDuck’s Swimming Pool Installations. Our office hours are 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday; absolutely no refunds.”
• “Hey, you’ve reached Arnold’s Pizza Shop. Nobody orders pizza at 6 am, so call back between noon and midnight, and we’d be happy to take your order.”
• “You’ve reached the voicemail of Parker and Sons, your friendly neighborhood photography studio. Sorry to leave you hanging. Leave a message, and we’ll be sure to leap into action.”
• “Hello there! You’ve reached Old Ben’s Salvage and Repair, located to the right of Tashi Station (from a certain point of view). If this is the business you’re looking for, leave your name and number, and we’ll reach out promptly.”
• “This is Bag End Bed and Breakfast. Sorry, we missed you! We must have been preoccupied with visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations. As always, we’re happy to make time for old friends and new friends alike, so leave a quick message, and we’ll be in touch.”
• “Thank you for calling Three Sisters’ Pot Removal Service. Hey, listen: If you’ve reached this message, we’re out of the office at the moment. But leave a message at the beep, and we’ll wake up one of our staff and send them galloping out your way as fast as the wind will carry them.”
• “This is the voicemail for Neeson Repossession Services. We can’t come to the phone right now. We don’t know who you are or what you want, but if you leave a message, we’ll return your call to determine if we have the particular skill set you need.”
• “You’ve reached Thomas Riddle, Magician Extraordinaire, the magic act that always leaves a mark on the audience. I’m terribly sorry I missed your call; I’m probably in my study, sorting through my magic hat collection. Leave a message, and I’ll return your call promptly.”
• “Thanks for calling McFly’s Cultural Museum, where the past and the future collide. We’ve stepped out for a moment. Leave a message after the beep, or just hang tight, and we’ll answer if we’re back in time.” 
• “Thank you for calling Cindy’s Cleanup Crew, open every day till midnight. At the tone, leave your name and number, and we’ll help you make your dreams of a clean home come true.”

After-hours voicemail greetings

These greetings are slightly more specialized, though they may still be fairly generic, as most businesses have times when they’re closed. 

Some guidance on creating a straightforward and effective message:

• Not every voicemail needs to include a forwarding address, figuratively speaking. In many cases, it’s perfectly fine to tell callers that you’ll get back to them ASAP and leave it at that. 
• In situations where there might be some urgency, it will be longer than usual before you respond, or callers frequently call the wrong line (and it has shorter hours than the one they actually want), then telling them who to call instead is a good idea. 
• Since you don’t have any way of identifying through a pre-recorded message exactly what the caller needs (and, by extension, who they should call next), you can make some reasonable assumptions based on normal caller behavior, the line of work you’re in, and the timeframe (e.g., weekend closures vs. seasonal closures vs. just calling outside of normal office hours). 
• Keep the forwarding instructions brief, and consider repeating the pertinent numbers because people don’t always have something to write with immediately ready. 
• You might also consider explicitly defining which callers should call the next number and who should just wait for a callback.

Some simple examples:

• “Thanks for calling McDuck’s Swimming Pool Installations. Our office hours are 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. If you’ve reached this message, I’m afraid you’ve caught us after closing, and you’re out of luck, laddy. Leave a message, or try again tomorrow.” 
• “You’ve reached the voicemail of Parker and Sons, your friendly neighborhood photography studio. We’re closed right now, but we’ll swing back into the office tomorrow morning, ready to suit up and leap into action. In the meantime, please send any urgent requests to Stark Raving Mad, Roger That Productions, or Thursday’s Best.”
• “Hello there! You’ve reached Old Ben’s Salvage and Repair, open every day from noon to 7pm. If you’ve reached this message, then these aren’t the hours you’re looking for. Feel free to leave a message or give us another call during open hours, and we’ll help you get things into order.”
• “This is Bag End Bed and Breakfast. We’ve slipped out from under the gaze of our patrons and headed home for the evening. But we’ll be there and back again, first thing in the morning, ready to assist you. Any concerns too precious to wait for can be directed to the local Eagles association.”
• “Thank you for calling Cindy’s Cleanup Crew, open every day till midnight. If you’re calling past pumpkin hour, we’re sorry to have missed you, but even a princess needs her beauty sleep. At the tone, leave your name and number, and we’ll return your call to see if our services are a perfect fit.”

Individual employee voicemail greetings

These are the greetings you’ll use for individuals running their single-person operations or for individual team members of larger organizations. 

Some tips for creating a welcoming and informative message:

• Greetings for individual staff members can follow very similar patterns to those used for the business at large, with a few tweaks based on how that individual’s role relates to the brand as a whole. 
• If that individual is the primary provider of goods and services (like a solopreneur, who does everything personally), then the individual is the brand, more or less, and the only thing you really change to the format is adding the person’s name. 
• Those who are part of a larger team, though, will likely need to add a bit more specificity to the message to narrow down the focus and help callers identify if they’ve called the right person or not.
• You may want to include specific information about what they should say in the message or how they can get in contact with you otherwise. Much like an after-hours message, you might leave contact info, but in this case, it might be an email address, a number they can text, or something similar. 

Some simple examples:

• “Thanks for calling McDuck’s Swimming Pool Installations. Mr. McDuck isn’t available at the moment, but leave a message here after the tone, and he’ll return your call to spend a few minutes answering your questions.” 
• “Hey, you’ve reached Arnold of Arnold’s Pizza Shop. I listen to every message before erasing it, so chill out, leave a message, and don’t terminate the call until you’ve stated your name and number.”
• “You’ve reached the voicemail of Parker of Parker and Sons. I’m sorry I didn’t stick around to answer your call, but I treat every message as a great responsibility. Leave a brief message, and I’ll be sure not to leave you hanging.”
• “Hello there! This is Ben of Old Ben’s Salvage and Repair. I’m out handling some trade negotiations but should be back shortly. After all, it would be so uncivilized to make you wait. In the meantime, leave a message, and I hope to return your call soon.”
• “This is Bag End Bed and Breakfast. Bill here; many sincere apologies for missing your call. Please leave a detailed message, and I’ll get back to you once the second breakfast has been served.”
• “Thank you for calling Three Sisters’ Pot Removal Service scheduling team. Saria and the rest of the crew are currently assisting other clients. At the tone, leave your contact info, and we’ll save some time to return your call.”
• “This is the voicemail for Neeson Repossession Services. I can’t come to the phone at the moment. Please leave a message at the beep. If this is not the first time you’ve called, and we’ve taken longer than expected to follow up, I apologize for the delay. I promise we will find you, and we will be in touch.”
• “You’ve reached Thomas Riddle, Magician Extraordinaire. I know you’re dying to speak to me, but all things come to those who wait. Notoriety can be quite the curse that way. But fear not; I shall return your call by quarter-till ten tomorrow.”
• “Thanks for calling McFly’s Cultural Museum. I can’t answer the phone right now, but once I find the time, I’ll return your call. Just leave your name, number, and your favorite historical period after the beep.” 
• “Thank you for calling Cindy’s Cleanup Crew. You must have caught me while I was away at the ball. Don’t worry; I’m back every night before midnight, and I’ll return your call first thing in the morning.”

Voicemail greetings for specific situations

These are your greetings for temporary, irregular, or uncommon situations where the information may not be readily available or expected. 

Some guidelines for creating a welcoming and informative message:

• You might expect that you’ll only ever need one greeting. But even over the course of a single year, there are ample opportunities for aligning the greeting with more situational themes. Capitalizing on said opportunities can do a lot with regard to brand perception.
• Take seasonal greetings. These can be used to highlight time-sensitive promotions, temporary changes to open hours, and other information that might be tied to a holiday or calendar event.
• You can also create greetings that directly address uncommon or non-standard variations in availability or circumstances. These might include essential employees taking a vacation, interruptions of service, emergencies, or other hurdles that might merit asking for the caller’s patience. 
• If you use a time-sensitive greeting, be sure to change it once you’ve passed the date in question. A holiday-specific greeting becomes a bit garish once the holiday is over and everyone has already moved on with their lives. 

Some simple examples:

• “Thanks for calling McDuck’s Swimming Pool Installations. Our office is open as normal through December 23. We’re open half-day on Christmas Eve.” 
• “Hey, you’ve reached Arnold’s Pizza Shop. Due to the recent machine uprising, we will be closed until further notice. Hasta la vista!”
• “You’ve reached the voicemail of Parker and Sons, your friendly neighborhood photography studio. In observance of the memorial services, we will be closed during the following dates and times…”
• “Hello there! You’ve reached Old Ben’s Salvage and Repair. In partnership with Wretched Hive, we’ll be hosting a community fundraiser and adoption event. Come join us, and find your newest chrome-plated addition to the family!”
• “This is Bag End Bed and Breakfast. Unfortunately, we are closed for the season as we make preparations for our next adventure. Please bear with us, and we’ll happily see you after our mountain trek.”
• “Thank you for calling Three Sisters’ Pot Removal Service. We recognize there has been some uncertainty and confusion regarding timelines and schedules this season. We are working to correct any conflicts and issues. In the meantime, please leave a message detailing your concerns, and we’ll get back to you soon.”
• “This is the voicemail for Neeson Repossession Services. I’ve taken a leave of absence while my daughter is away on vacation. Please forward all urgent messages to…”
• “You’ve reached Thomas Riddle, Magician Extraordinaire. If you’re calling about the you-know-what, please be aware that I cannot provide any secrets or spoilers that are not already publicly available.”
• “Thanks for calling McFly’s Cultural Museum. Our main attraction is currently out of order while we attempt to arrange for more sustainable power generation (1.21 gigawatts is a lot, after all). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Choosing the right business voicemail greeting for your company 

We could go on for ages with advice on dos and don’ts. But we’ve all got places to be and calls that need answering. And honestly, you’ve humored us for a lot longer than we expected.

Our best parting wisdom is this: There’s nothing wrong with a simple, no-frills greeting that gets the job done. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with it too, though. After all, we deal with machines, computers, and artificiality enough as it is. A little humanity can do quite a bit to put people at ease and build their trust.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)