This e-tailer just suffered an unprecedented site outage–at the start of the crucial back-to-school season. Would your disaster-recovery plans and backup systems fare any better?

HANG IN THERE. That was the first plea American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) offered its nearly 1.5 million Facebook friends three days after its trio of e-commerce sites had crashed.

The online retail outlets—ae.com, aerie.com and 77kids.com, which target teens and kids—suffered what American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) termed a “major incident” on July 19. “This has caused all of our sites to go down,” a Facebook update said on July 22, at 1:26 p.m. “We’re working together 24/7 to get them up and running as soon as possible. Hang in there….we’ll make it up to you. Check back soon.” More>>