LOCAL company Greymouse has been offering IT services to a variety of companies for years and have now added a new virtual receptionist service, aimed at helping struggling companies who can't afford to hire extra staff or miss important business calls.

Greymouse was founded by Marisa Wiman and Kelvin Davis, and began as a cloud-based call centre with virtual offices and assistants.

Recent expansion has allowed the pair to help companies streamline their business and better compete in today's marketplace.

Greymouse virtual receptionists are based in Fiji, but use the most advanced technology available to allow for a clear phone connection.

They also go through extensive training.

One Coast business using the service is Sunshine Coast Pet Resort at Meridan Plains.

When owner Sam Brown began thinking about how to grow her business on a tight budget, never in a million years did she think that an offshore call centre could fit her business model.

But she took a leap of faith and was soon freed up from manning the phones, having her calls answered remotely within three rings and saving 40% on customer service costs each year.

Her wages bill dropped from 41% of turnover to 32%, and her staff could be redeployed out of the office to direct pet care.

The owners flew to Fiji for a face-to-face meeting with the operators of their call centre at Christmas.