Raise Your Flags to American(-made)Apparel.com’s Free Shipping Offer

Today is the last day for free shipping (no minimum) at AmericanApparel.com!

Men! Women! Children! Babies! AmericanApparel.com has clothes and accessories for all of them. Today is the last day for a free shipping (no minimum) at American Apparel. Enter code “FREESHIP1010″ during checkout. With live chat and call support 11 hours a day, American Apparel excels in the “Customer Support” category (contributing to one-third of their overall STELLA Rating), scoring an 80.

American-made clothing modeled on a (former) American car

While American Apparel’s overall STELLA Rating is a 76, I’m constantly reminded of their existence from walking the streets of NYC and their distinct commitment to social responsibility. Their company page explains they use a “vertically integrated business model” which minimizes the use of sub-contractors and offshore labor. Everything from design and sewing to marketing happens in their Los Angeles facilities. Raise your American-made jeans and cotton shirts to a good ol’ made-in-the-USA company!

STELLA Rating Overview:

Online Tools: 76

Shipping and Returns: 74

Customer Support: 80

Overall STELLA Rating: 76

Learn more about STELLAService ratings.

Live Chat Cats And Silly Stock Photos

My previous blog posts delved into the customer service color’s influence on customer mood. (“Does a Blue Phone Number Make You Calm?“) Well, it’s Friday, and it’s time for a little fun. I gathered several of my favorite pictures of customer service representatives, complete with banter commentary.

Need immediate keg support now before the cool kids show up to your party? Chat with the polo-clad kegerator expert, and maybe he’ll tell you a few stories about his fraternity glory days.

Tina Fey, is that you? Did you forget your morning coffee?!

I want to chat with this one, she looks like she knows something I don't.

She must provide great customer service; she’s just so…smiley!

What a flawless complexion. I don’t know if I want to chat with her about my issue or just ask for skin care advice. What’s that guy doing in the background?

Can't find it? Let him help, but he won't be happy about it.

Well, I’d love some live help, but only if I have 20/20 vision and the manual dexterity to click on your tiny little icon!

I think Mary may have accidentally shipped away her retirement plan too.

This just out: Santa is a bike technician in the off-season!

Anyone else see any good customer service stock photos out there? Any as silly as the cat with the headset? Traditional comment board is not functioning but the Facebook one is.

Stroll the Internet in 3D on YooWalk.com

When it comes to calling the customer support of a website, robots are no fun. But when it comes to being a robot and shopping the web in 3-D, there’s nothing cooler than having your own avatar walk around a 3-D virtual representation of the World Wide Web.

My lime green-clad avatar browses the home room of Macy's

My avatar at the corner of "Internet" and "News"

On YooWalk.com, the World Wide Web is organized into categorized villages. Each street is a category, such as Luxury Shopping, Auctions, Dating, Consumer Electronics, Autos, Movies, Family, etc. You direct your personalized avatar via your mouse or arrow keys to walk into a cube-shaped buildings. Once inside, pictures are displayed on the wall of the product categories of the site. What’s really neat is the ability to chat with other avatars when inside a room.

If you get lost, you can consult the map in the top left corner, or you can click on the butterfly to quickly fly to other places on the Internet. Or click “go home” to your personalized interactive room made up of your favorite web content. You can also upload pictures and music to share with your YooWalk friends. Picture Facebook in 3D on steroids!

YooWalk.com is a hoot to play with, and I highly recommend you check it out, because it’s difficult to describe in words! It’s bridging the gap between the virtual world and the physical world. And if you maintain your own site, you can build your own 3D community and live chat with your viewers. A live 3D version of the web, what could be more exciting? How about STELLAshopper.com in 3D?

What Does a $1,400,275 Engagement Ring Look Like?

I’ve been getting some fun snail mail once a week. A hand-written address winks at me on the envelope and my mind starts whirling about with the possible content inside the card. In the digital age, what is a more satisfying way to connect than through snail mail?

Lately these hard-copy correspondences are invitations to bridal showers, bachelorette parties, weddings, and other matrimonial events. I’m digitally reminded of engagements via Facebook, which alerts me of friends tying the knot and publishes pictures of their diamond rings to supplement the news of their engagement. Having evaluated over a dozen websites that specialize in jewelry-Tiffany, Zales, and Anjolee to name a few-one website in particular really stuck with me for its engagement-ring builder, and that was BlueNile.com.

Diamond Search Function on BlueNile.com

I first created my dream ring, an asscher cut, 3.10-carat diamond in a vintage four-prong platinum setting. At $49,850, I designed it without the slightest concern for price. Next, I made a more reasonably-priced round 0.50-carat diamond in a petite trellis setting for $2.502. Lastly, using the price narrowing option, I found the most expensive diamond on the website. A 14.20-carat diamond with a $1,400,275 price tag was revealed-wow!

Left: A 3.50-carat asscher cut diamond ring in a vintage four prong setting. Right: A 14.20-carat found diamond priced at $1,400,275

What impressed me more than the existence of a diamond for $1,400,275 was the application used to build rings on BlueNile.com. A list of diamonds automatically updates as users narrow and sort results by shape, carat, color, price cut, and clarity. A diamond comparison tool is also available. Next, to choose the setting, the metal, price, and style is chosen to narrow results.

Speaking of commitment, it’s possible that the only thing more impressive than a $1,400,275 engagement ring is BlueNile’s commitment to provide a high-quality customer experience with it, being that great online customer service is worth $17.3 billion per year, enough for 12,355 14.20-carat diamonds! While building a ring on BlueNile.com, links to email, call, and initiate live chats with customer support representatives are prominently displayed, making it clear that high-quality customer service is of utmost importance for them. It is no surprise they have an Elite STELLAService Rating of 95, the highest of those rated in the jewelry category.

Other nifty ring-builders and their STELLAService Rating include:

Ross-Simons.com: 83 (Excellent)

Anjolee.com: 81 (Excellent)

Zales.com: 79

JTV.com: 73

Abazias.com: 69

Remember that once you create your dream ring, look for a link to either add to your wish list or email your creation to your sweetheart (hint, hint!)