No business premises, anywhere in the country, has a more important area than their reception.
Sure, the factory floor where they make the cars might be vital for a car making business: and the board room is where all the decisions get made.
Those decisions, though, and those cars, are nothing if there's no-one to listen to them and no-one to drive them - and without a good first impression, courtesy of some decent reception furniture, there won't be.
That area seen first by every single visitor to enter a pace of business can set their impression of the whole company forever.
Not something to get wrong, then.
When designing a reception area, two things must be taken into consideration.
First, and most important of all: what does the look of the reception area say about the company that is doing business? How well does it delineate that company's actual stock in trade - and how well does it convey the business's desired "feel"? Does the desk look modern, fresh, contemporary; or traditional, classy, reassuring? How do the fittings, the down lights, the up lights, the chairs and cubby holes, the phone placement and computer location, fit into the overall scheme? In other words: is the reception furniture making visitors feel the way the business in question wants them to feel? The other consideration, equally important for the people who work at the reception desk, is of course "how does it work"? Is everything fitted in such a way that the receptionist or receptionists can perform his, her or their job with ease? Are files within good reach? Can a telephone be answered without obstructing a field of vision that takes in any visitors who may have arrived? Is there ample space for paperwork, logbooks, passes and so on? Just as the reception area needs to look good, it also needs to function well - or that first favourable impression given by the appearance of the reception furniture will be destroyed.
Receptionists, who find the furniture of a reception area inadequate when it comes to doing their job properly, can't do their job properly.
And that makes as bad an impression as if the furniture itself was mismatched, poorly placed and obviously ancient.
The way in which a reception area is furnished, then, is as important as the advertising campaigns a company chooses to promote itself, or the people it chooses to represent itself.
It's the first port of call, the first point of contact, between the outside world (i.
e.
a universe of potential custom) and the company.
It needs to be as good as it can be.
This is where companies that make reception furniture a specialty come into play.
Companies like UK based Triangle Interiors, whose bespoke reception furnishings have been designed with all the aesthetic and ergonomic requirements of a working business front line firmly in mind.
Triangle offers both old style sophistication and modern severity in excellent packages - their furniture looks good, it works well and it can be slotted into almost any space.
Where first impressions count - and that, in business, is everywhere - the choices a company makes insofar as reception furniture goes can have long lasting consequences.
Don't skimp, don't rush.
The benefits, in the long run, will be obvious.