A Day in the Life of a Receptionist at Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash

Published on: 14 Feb, 2023
Updated on: 19 Feb, 2023

Continuing our look at the important service offered by Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash, here Mena Hameed gives her experiences of being a receptionist.

Receptionists are the backbone of our advice and information service, providing much needed support to staff, volunteers and clients.

They are the first person that clients meet when they come into the office and are the last person they see when they leave.

They are gratefully relied upon to sort out papers when a client unexpectedly brings a bag of letters to scan, and their calm reassurance to those who come in with an emergency is crucial to helping people feel supported.

This isn’t your typical receptionist role, you never know what the day will bring, and there is always a great team spirit.

Mena Hameed, receptionist with Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash.

Mena writes… I started volunteering with the Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash back in May 2022. I was originally doing one day a week and now do two days a week. I am really enjoying my experience here and found the training provided really thorough.

A typical day involves starting at 9.15am with the daily briefing attended by all volunteers and staff over Zoom. This updates us with any internal and external news / changes.

Following on from the briefing my day starts with checking the email inbox and daily tasks.

As the majority of our enquiries are now processed online there are often quite a few email enquiries that need attending to. This involves ensuring that all clients consents are up to date and triaging the urgency of the enquiry and forwarding on to an adviser as relevant.

I have come across a wide variety of clients who need support in many different areas. These can include help with applying for benefits, relationship breakdowns and financial worries, people with consumer issues and visa applications.

We also have a task list for receptionists where advisers and supervisors can leave admin jobs to be completed (scanning / contacting clients, etc).

Appointment reminders are always made the day before appointments to ensure clients are aware they have an appointment the following day and can attend.

Lastly, we are often required to scan / photocopy documentation onto a client’s case file, for example, benefit forms or letters.

Supervisors are always on hand to communicate with and contact both virtually and in person. They are always on hand to offer support and advice where needed.

I would highly recommend Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash as an organisation to volunteer with. All staff and volunteers are treated with a great amount of respect and I always look forward to my day, what ever lies ahead.

We would love more receptionists to greet clients in both our Guildford and Ash offices. If you are interested, please email recruitment@ca-ga.org.uk.

If you require help from Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash, click here for Citizens Advice Guildford and Ash’s website.