Japanese clients - general protocol and politeness questions

[mr_pain]

Hi all,
I have some Japanese clients coming to the (research) studio I work in and since my Japanese is still very basic Im finding myself posed with a few, quite basic questions which I was hoping that I can get some help with.

1) These are clients rather than customers (distinction being they pay a LOT more? *grin*). Would "okyakusan" be an appropriate address to use and "irashimase"　（spelling?) an appropriate welcome?

2) Can anyone suggest anything I should do to make them feel more welcome - this isnt actually my job (Im IT not hosting) but since everyone knows Ive been learning Japanese for a while Im bound to be asked.

3) Although Ive been learning for a few years, well my Japanese is still below JLPT 4 level this Im very concerned about making stupid mistakes and especially about failing to be poilite. Is it true I can cover this by basically adding "desu" to the end of everything (unless Ive remembered to use a masu ending) and am I going to sound *totally* stupid?

4) Food, drink and alcohol. We tend to offer Spanish tapas which can be quite greasy and I get the feeling this might not go down too well and have things like tea coffee beer and red wine. Am I worring too much here and is there anything that we should be serving which we normally wouldnt? (green tea comes to mind because Ive really missed a proper cuppa when Ive been abroad).

5) Any other suggestions of how to play host to Japanese (what will probably be) salarymen abroad?

Sorry for the list, bit of a brain dump there and thanks in advance for any replys

[richvh]

1) Rather than "okyakusan", I'd recommend "okyakusama". "Irasshaimase" should be appropriate.

3) Adding "no desu" will cover a lot of politeness faux pas. On the other hand, foreigners get a "free pass" on politeness until they become much better than you are.

[Mike Cash]

I would recommend telling your coworkers ahead of time that your Japanese isn't up to the task and that consequently you have no intention of using it and would appreciate their making no mention of it.

You want to make people feel welcome? Smile.

[suhui]

How about if you know the client's name? Say 山田様？

[mr_pain]

@richvh: Cheers, I wasnt that far off
@Mike Cash: I dont expect to be challenged *that* much! hehe However that is probably good advice which I may well use IF the translator turns up on time. Heck, Im sure that most of the clients will actually want to practice their English and speak it better than I speak Japanese.
@Suhui: Probably about 8 clients and Im TERRIBLE with European names even - I had to apologise to someone last week since I cant roll my Rs at all and so couldnt pronounce her name properly :/

Anyways cheers peeps....anyone any thoughts on my foodish questions though?