While the specific examples provided don't provide immediate value, one should not overlook the value of the "Badge of Seriousness". Perhaps the receptionist job at such a firm should be looked at as less of a receptionist job and more of a sales job. If they lose out on business because they are not perceived as a serious firm, then the receptionist job provides quite a lot of value to the company, just not in the "answering phones" sort of way.