Location is everything – even online

The whole point about call centres, the Diary once naively believed, was that they could be anywhere – and the cheaper the location, the better.

But apparently location is everything – especially if you have a funky new dot-com to promote, which the online discount fashion and sportswear supplier Boo.com does.

Rather than a converted cow-shed in the Outer Hebrides, Boo.com’s customer service team – the Boocrew – is based in the heart of London’s West End, in Carnaby Street.

The Website makes a big issue about the location, presumably in the hope that it will add a little atmosphere to any call to the Boocrew.

To test this theory, the Diary called the Boocrew for a chat.

Although it was not immediately apparent that Boocrew member Francesca was in Carnaby Street, or even in London, the Diary did feel strangely fashionable for a few minutes after the telephone call.

But the Boocrew talent doesn’t stop there.

The Boo.com team promises to “know the answer to all of your vital questions, such as are these trousers going to shrink?”, so they are obviously gifted psychics as well.