10-minute recipe: holiday closures

For dealership staff. Time: about 10 minutes, and you can do the whole year in one go.

Holiday closures go wrong in predictable ways. The website says you're open, Google says something else, and a "Closed Monday" banner is still up on Wednesday. This recipe covers every place shoppers look, so you do it once, ideally in January for the whole year.

1. Special hours on your website (about 4 minutes)

1. Go to Website → Settings → Locations & Hours, and click Edit on the location.
2. Click Hours: Special.
3. For each holiday, click Add Row, then choose the Department and the Date.
   • For a full-day closure, leave Closed ticked.
   • For shorter hours, such as Christmas Eve, untick Closed and set the times.
4. Use the duplicate icon to repeat a row for each department. Sales, Service, Parts and Rentals each need their own row.
5. Click Save.

Each row only takes over on its own date. For the rest of the year your normal hours show, so there's nothing to undo afterwards.

Collision centre? Collision isn't in the special-hours list yet. Email us your collision holiday dates.

2. Google Business Profile (about 4 minutes)

Google Maps and Search don't read your website's hours. In your Google Business Profile, go to Edit profile → Hours → Special hours and add the same dates. Google often shows a "Hours might differ" warning around holidays if you don't, which puts shoppers off. If you have separate profiles for Service or Parts, update each one.

3. A banner people will notice (about 2 minutes)

Choose one:

• Do it yourself: set your persistent banner to the closure notice a day or two ahead. Take it down when you reopen (see 2-minute fix: change the banner at the top of your site). The banner has no end date, so put a reminder in your calendar.
• Have us schedule it: send us every holiday banner for the year in one email, with the text, the dates each one should show, and an optional link. Each banner switches itself on and off. While one is showing it temporarily replaces your normal banner, and your banner comes back afterwards.

4. Check

• On the day before a holiday, open your contact page in a private window and check this week's hours table shows the closure. The special hours only appear during the week they fall in.
• Check your header. The "Open / Closed" message follows your Sales hours.
• Search your dealership's name on Google and check the hours shown there.

Other things to think about

• Lead response: forms still arrive while you're closed. Consider an auto-reply in your CRM saying when you'll respond.
• Chat: if you use website chat, check what it tells shoppers about your hours on those days.
• Pop-ups and holiday offers: a holiday sales event is a campaign in its own right. See 10-minute recipe: launch a campaign landing page.

What to send Overfuel Support (for scheduled banners)

• Which rooftop(s)
• For each banner: the exact text, the first and last day it should show, and the link, if any
• Any collision-centre holiday hours

Email support@overfuel.com. Send the whole year in one message if you can.