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Macy’s broke the cardinal e-commerce holiday rule. Don’t let your site collapse. It undermines sales, it makes management of the online business appear incompetent, and makes investors, customers, and employees wonder whether poor executive skills will continue to damage a retailer that is already in big trouble.

Macy’s (NYSE: M) said it was “working quickly to alleviate the delay issue” — hardly an acceptable excuse for busy shoppers.

Macy’s has staggered from one strategy to another, rearranging and closing stores. CEO Terry Lundgren is leaving, but not soon enough. He will be replaced by Jeff Gennette, Macy’s president. The board should have looked outside. As the e-commerce debacle shows, Gennette is part of the problem, as has to be the case with all the senior management.

Ahead of the holiday the company announced:

Shop Macy’s for Big Discounts on Black Friday and throughout Cyber Week

Find hundreds of Black Friday specials starting at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving evening and online all day at macys.com

Cyber Week offers five days of savings to customers shopping macys.com beginning with a preview on Sunday, Nov. 27

Plus, for the first time, Macy’s customers who want a head start can shop select specials a week early at the Black Friday doorbusters preview sale starting Thursday, Nov. 17.

But, if you want to shop online, go to a site that works. Macy’s should have run its site on Amazon Web Services.

Note: Macy’s shares are down 32% in the last two years.