Between Black Friday and New Year, hours change, people take time off and phones get forwarded. That's when a lead is easiest to lose: a form goes to someone on vacation, Google shows you open when you're closed, or a call rings out with no voicemail.
Here are 15 checks. Most take a minute. Do them with a phone in your hand, the way a customer would.
Phone (1 to 4)
- Call your main number from a cell phone during open hours. Does the right person answer?
- Call after hours. Does the voicemail greeting give the holiday hours and say when you'll call back?
- Check that the voicemail box isn't full and that messages reach someone who will be working.
- Tap the phone number on your website from a phone. It should dial, with no typos.
Forms and booking (5 to 9)
- Send a test from each form on your site: contact, quote, any landing page forms.
- Check where it lands. Not in spam, and not only in the inbox of someone who's off until January.
- Check the confirmation. The thank-you message and any reply email should say when you'll respond over the holidays.
- Open your booking tool and block the days you're closed so nobody books Christmas Eve by mistake.
- Book a test appointment and cancel it. Make sure both emails arrive.
Google Business Profile (10 to 12)
- Set special hours. Google's path: Edit profile, then Hours, then the edit icon next to Special hours. Pick the date and either enter times or keep it marked Closed.
- Confirm open holidays too. Google suggests confirming holiday hours even when they match your regular hours. Special hours replace that day's regular hours, so re-enter anything you want to keep.
- Closed a week or more? Google says special hours cover up to 6 days in a row. For 7 or more, use Temporarily closed instead.
Website and auto-replies (13 to 15)
- Put the holiday hours on the website where people look: the header, the contact page and the footer.
- Set email auto-replies for anyone out, with who to contact instead.
- Put a reminder on the calendar to take all of it down after New Year, so January visitors don't see December hours.
The checklist
- Main number answered by the right person
- After-hours voicemail gives holiday hours
- Voicemail box has room and is checked
- Website phone link dials correctly
- Every form sends a test
- Form emails reach someone who is working
- Confirmation messages give holiday response times
- Closed days blocked in booking
- Test booking made and cancelled
- Google special hours set
- Open holidays confirmed on Google
- Temporarily closed used for 7+ days
- Holiday hours on the website
- Email auto-replies set
- Reminder set to remove holiday notices
Where the website comes in
If half of these checks failed, the problem usually isn't the holidays. It's a website that was never set up to send leads to the right place. We build sites around calls and quote requests, and test them before they go live. See also what to do if your website goes down.
Questions
Should I set holiday hours on Google if I am open as normal?
Google suggests confirming your hours for official holidays even when they match your regular hours, so customers know they are accurate.
What if we close for a full week?
Google says special hours are for changes of up to 6 days in a row. For 7 days or more, it says to mark the business as temporarily closed.
When should I run this test?
Once before Black Friday, and again in the week before Christmas, since settings, staff and phone forwarding often change in between.
Sources
Drafted with AI assistance and checked against Google's help page on November 13, 2026.
