Your receptionist is often the first person with whom your customers or vendors have contact. If she is disorganized, unfamiliar with your personnel or departments or physically unkempt, it sends a message about how organized your company is or how seriously you take your business. Set a dress code for your receptionist, which might preclude her from taking part in “casual Friday” dress. Prohibit chewing gum at her desk, taking lunch in the reception area, playing music while working or adding personal decorations to her work station. Require her to keep her desktop neat and her computer monitor facing away from visitors. Familiarize your receptionist with key customers and vendors so that she can make them feel important and valued by remembering their names, knowing their companies and understanding what they make or sell