Volunteers at the Caterham & Warlingham Citizens Advice Bureau are delighted with the results of the organisation's recent client satisfaction survey. The results reflected the high quality of service provided by the advisers, with most questions receiving an approval rating of 95% or more. When asked: 'Overall, how happy are you with the service you received?' 98% of clients were either 'Very happy' or 'Fairly happy', with two-thirds of those surveyed ticking the top box saying they were 'Very happy'.

Similar high scores of 98% were achieved for: 'How well did the adviser understand you and your problem?', 'How happy are you about the time you had to discuss your problem?" and 'Would you use the CAB service again?'

Commenting on the survey results, Bureau Manager Philip Broad said: "This is a tremendous achievement. It shows that all the hard work and effort put in by our advisers, nearly all of whom are volunteers, to deliver a quality service is really appreciated by the public that we serve."

Some of the comments made by people who took part in the survey included: "Thank you so much for all the help and support. The service was great as well. Very understanding, will definitely recommend"; "Fast, friendly advice. Thank you"; "The lady was kind, patient and understanding"; "I was able to have a meeting at my local Sure Start Children's Centre which was fantastic as I have three small children".

One issue raised in some of the responses to the survey was difficulty in contacting the CAB by telephone. Philip explained: "We are aware that there are times when it is not always possible for calls to be answered by an adviser and that can be frustrating for callers. To try to improve the situation we have recently installed a new telephone system on the public enquiry line giving us greater flexibility for picking up calls within the Bureau, and we have also been able to put more advisers onto the rota for some sessions (e.g. Mondays). However, even these measures cannot guarantee that all calls will be answered because we only have a small office and a finite resource in terms of the number of advisers available for a session."

The CAB is located in the Soper Hall in Harestone Valley Road, Caterham. The opening hours for the Caterham & Warlingham CAB, for drop-in clients and telephone enquiries (except as stated otherwise), are as follows:

-Monday 10.00am - 4.00pm

Tuesday 10.00am - 1.00pm

1.00pm - 4.00pm (telephone calls & pre-booked appointments only)

Wednesday 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Thursday 10.00am - 4.00pm

Friday 10.00am - 1.00pm (pre-booked appointments only)

Enquiry calls (tel. 01883 344777) cannot be taken outside these times. For anyone with access to the internet www.adviceguide.org.uk has a wealth of information that can be used by people to try to help themselves deal with an issue.