As a customer, you've probably already seen a Google listing showing open in front of a shuttered storefront. It's one of the simplest settings on your listing, and yet one of the most often forgotten. It costs nothing, requires no technical skill, and avoids a customer disappointment that arrives at the worst possible moment: when someone has gone out of their way specifically to visit you.
Why this setting is the most cost-effective one on your listing
By default, Google shows your regular hours every day of the year, including bank holidays. If you say nothing, on a bank holiday your listing announces that you're open as on a normal Tuesday. It's the one setting that, if wrong, turns a customer ready to buy into an unhappy customer standing in front of a closed door. Unlike a slightly weak photo or a short description, an hours error produces a wasted trip that is immediate and visible.
The concrete risk: open on Google, closed on the ground
A customer checking your listing on a bank holiday rarely looks at anything beyond the hours shown. They don't check your Facebook page or your shopfront before setting off. They travel, find the door closed, and leave with a negative impression that has nothing to do with your product or service, only with a simple piece of information that wasn't kept up to date.
- A customer who has travelled for nothing is more likely to leave a negative review than one simply let down by a service
- That review stays visible on your listing until you gain enough other reviews to dilute it
- The customer doesn't necessarily come back to check a second time whether you're open
- Your nearest competitor often picks up the sale, with no effort on their part
How to set special hours on your Google listing
The process takes a few minutes per date. You don't need any additional tool, only access to your Google Business Profile.
- Open your listing through Google Business Profile, or from Google Search by clicking "Edit profile"
- Go to the Info section, then Hours
- Click "Special hours" or "Add special hours", depending on the version of the interface
- Choose the date in question, then select "Closed" or set reduced hours if you stay open later or for less time than usual
- Save: the update generally appears on your listing within a few hours
Bank holidays, annual leave, refurbishments: three cases, one logic
Bank holidays
Google doesn't add these to your listing automatically. Whichever French bank holiday you're closed for, it's up to you to state it, date by date, in special hours.
Annual leave
A closure of several days or several weeks is set up the same way, by adding one entry per day concerned, or a date range if the interface allows it. Do this as soon as your leave dates are fixed, not the evening before you leave.
Closing for refurbishment
For a one-off, unplanned closure, the reflex is the same: special hours on the dates concerned. However, avoid switching your listing to "Temporarily closed" for just a few days: that status is meant for lengthy closures and can reduce your visibility while it's active, including after you reopen.
The right habit: enter everything in January
Rather than handling each date as the year goes on, with the risk of forgetting the day before a bank holiday, take ten minutes in January to enter every foreseeable closure of the year: the eleven French bank holidays, plus your leave periods if they're already set. You then leave it alone, barring anything unexpected.
And on your showcase website?
At SiteServi, syncing from your Google listing is active for customers with a current subscription: your hours, address and phone number update automatically on your website, within a week of a change on Google. This also applies to any special hours you add. The principle is the same as for your listing: keep your Google listing up to date, and your website follows. This is also why keeping your Google listing up to date remains the foundation of a consistent online presence.
What this setting doesn't replace
There is an update delay, both on Google and on your website, between the moment you enter a date and the moment it shows everywhere. For a closure decided the evening before, rely on the Google display, which is generally quick, but check your listing after making the change rather than assuming it's already up to date. SiteServi builds showcase websites, not booking or online sales systems: the website informs your customers, it doesn't replace a phone call for a genuinely urgent case.
This setting requires no particular skill and costs nothing. That's exactly why it's easy to leave aside, until the day a customer travels for nothing.