Do Hot Flashes Impair Brain Function?

(I’m a cashier at a pharmacy. One day I come into work and the line is halfway around the store. Two of my coworkers have called out, and when I clock in, one of the two cashiers there goes on a lunch break. It’s just me and the manager trying to get everyone rung up as quickly as possible. The phone rings, so I answer while still helping my customer.)

Me: “Hello. This is [Pharmacy]. How may I direct your call?”

Caller #1: “Yes, I’m looking for [Medicine]. It’s for hot flashes.”

Me: “Okay, ma’am, what kind of medicine is it?”

Caller #1: *getting irritated* “It’s called, ‘[MEDICINE].’ It’s for hot flashes!”

Me: “Yes, ma’am. I mean, is it some kind of painkiller?”

Caller #1: “It’s called, ‘[MEDICINE]’! It’s for hot flashes!”

Me: *still trying to ring up customers and getting annoyed* “Ma’am, we don’t have a section for menopause. I need to know if it’s a painkiller, or a vitamin, or is it in the cold section — something like that.”

Caller #1: “Okay, listen to me. You know what menopause is, right? You know that women have hot flashes, right? It’s called, ‘[MEDICINE]’! Just look for it—”

(I admit I am annoyed. I’m not about to look all over the floor looking for some medicine I’ve never heard of. I hang up on her and finish ringing up my customer. I think that is the end of that… until a couple of hours later, when another customer calls.)

Caller #2: “I’m looking for [Medicine]; it’s for hot flashes.”

(I ask her the same question.)

Caller #2: “It should be in the same area as the birth control or the feminine products.”

(I tell her I’ll send someone to look for it.)

Caller #2: “Thank you. Actually, my sister called earlier, and she spoke to someone who hung up on her.”

Me: “Would you like to speak to a manager, ma’am?”

(She says yes, so I call my manager to speak to her. Meanwhile, my coworker finds her medicine and brings it to the front. She speaks to the woman to confirm it’s the right one. They speak and she hangs up. My manager asks why she hung up and didn’t transfer the call.)

Coworker: “She said she didn’t really need to speak to him anymore. She just wanted to say sorry for her sister’s behavior.”