I just need to vent....
I am new at my job in the office, less than 3 months. I don't know everything yet, I am not sure when I should know everything?
Anyways, I don't have all of the answers. If I get a caller who doesn't know who they are trying to reach, I can pretty much narrow it down to two people, like A and B and transfer it to the most available person. It might not be "right" but I figure they can always transfer them to the correct person if I am wrong. Sometimes I do ask a coworker later, and I keep a list of typically requests and who to transfer those callers to (things I had asked the person whose job I took over)
So, with this information I can usually narrow it down if the caller doesn't have a name of who they are trying to reach.
So, here is my vent. Today I had a caller and they wanted to buy XXX and I thought they could buy it from the shop, so I gave that number. Then the caller starts asking but do they sell XXX. I reply I am not totally sure what the items they sell, I mean I do the invoice but it parts and not things I easily recognize to what it would be...at most some of them are meaningless words, some even just a bunch of numbers or letters.
Well, the caller said that the company website has this information that he can buy these parts from them...who would be in charge of that? So, I think to my list and tell him I am going to transfer him to so and so because they are in charge of buying this other stuff. Well, my caller doesn't want to buy that type of stuff so he doesn't want to talk to that person...
At this point, I should have put him on hold and ask, but all of my other coworkers were on the phone so I would have been interrupting them...and I don't like to do that.
Well, the caller told me that this was no help, this whole thing was giving him a headache and he said goodbye and hung up

I just want to vent because I keep thinking of that stupid call. What else should I have done?

Thanks for hearing my vent!! Hope it didn't give you a headache

You remained professional and did the best you could to help, but sadly that's not enough for some people. If you placed him on hold he probably would have complained that you had him on hold too long, and if you transferred him to the wrong person then he would have complained that you're transferring him to a million different people that can't help him! I also work in a 'customer service oriented career' (nursing), and I've quickly come to realize you just can't please everyone!

Write all these questions down and go to your supervisor and ask for advice on how to handle these types of calls.

I agree with both posters! You can't please everyone. And the company you work for should have given you a list of transfers. You're just doing the best you can with the knowledge you have!

Thanks!
I don't ask the "boss" questions like that but do usually ask coworkers. Actually, after the call was over and one of my coworkers available I asked her and she didn't seem to the best person to transfer them too either.
I have a list of transfers and buttons to use to transfer, and usually callers know who they need to talk to and just say I want to talk to (insert name) but sometimes callers don't know who they need to talk to so I just sort of have to listen to them and use what I know, or even go ask, to best transfer them.
And I have lists of employees and what types of calls they handle, based on my own questions and trial and error...so if I get a certain call and want to know for future reference, I write it down.
I've been googling tips and it seems that is one of them.
I guess, because other coworkers were not available to go ask, I could have suggested I call him back when I figured out who I needed to transfer him to? That is another tip I found on google...

I totally hear you! I work at a hotel and on a daily basis have to hear people's rants about tv, remotes, toliets being clogged and us not putting in their reservations correctly(side note--please don't book with expedia or hotels.com, they will book you smoking when you want non-smoking, and sometimes fail to put in reservations to the hotel's system alltogether.)

You're new, you're gonna make mistakes and have to ask a lot of questions, it's ok though, no one expects you to know everything. I've been working here for a year and I don't know everything, and screwed up the bank deposits last week because I was the only one hear and couldn't ask a manger for help. Don't let others dictact how you feel, only you have that much power. Keep shining, and smiling.

Occasionally when working you have a customer who wants something out of the ordinary.

This customer wanted something out of the ordinary. You were trying to transfer him to someone who would be able to help him, and he didn't want to hear of it. His loss. (Sounds like a very impatient person.)

Sounds like you did everything in your power to try and help him out. And if you found a few extra tips on how to handle that in the future, all the better.

Don't lose sleep over it.

I don't think you should get down on yourself about this at all, since you haven't been there long. One suggestion, you could say, if you don't mind waiting a couple of minutes, I'll check on that for you to make sure you get the right information. As a person who makes those calls, I'd rather wait and get the info than have a rep call me back. Then you could wait for a co-worker to get off a call and help you.

My boss has a very charming manner, and I've noticed a little humor goes a long way with people. I would think the average busy person who makes those kinds of calls (me included) dreads doing it a little to begin with, then when you hear, "I'll transfer you" it can sound like "I'm going to waste more of your time by letting you ask another person all over again the same question and they won't know the answer either."

customer service is tough sometimes, you sound like a conscientious and helpful person