A Day in the Life: A CVS Cashier

If you had a beer can in your hand last weekend, there is a good chance that Lonnie was the guy who sold it to whoever gave it to you.

"It's been pretty ridiculous this past week," Lonnie said. " A guy came in here yesterday and bought 20 cases."

As a cashier at the CVS in The Village Shopping Center on Three Chopt Road, Lonnie probably knows more than Mark Zuckerberg about students at the University of Richmond.

He is the first guy to hear about the party (beer), the hook-up (condoms), the birthday (card), the vacation (passport pictures) and the hangover (aspirin). He also sells us gum.

Ironically, Lonnie, who is 17, said people had to be 18 years old to buy most of the products he sold.

"People love Marlboro Lights," he said. "It's insane."

Although he has only been working for two months he said that he was getting pretty familiar with the clientele.

"There is usually never just one guy buying beer," he said. "It's always a guy and his girlfriend, a guy and his best friend or a guy and his posse."

Lonnie said a guy and his posse could mean 20 forms of identification he needed to verify. He said if he were handed an out-of-state license he would be required to scan it unless the person had a second form of identification.

He said generally there was never a problem with people stealing things, but there was one guy who tried to get refunds for things he had never bought.

On his half-hour break, Lonnie said he liked to mix it up. Sometimes he goes to Moe's or Ukrop's, but since his best friend works at Subway he said he went there the most often.

Lonnie is probably pretty hungry since he prefers the two-and-a-half mile walk to work over driving.

"I'm an athletic guy," he said. " I walk everywhere. It keeps the blood flowing."

Plus, he enjoys the opportunity to listen to his iPod. Right now, it's Nirvana and The Foo Fighters. He said it's a nice switch from the playback satellite that hums in the background of CVS.

"Oh my God," he said. "If I have to hear 'What is Love?' one more time, I swear to God..."

Lonnie, who started his senior year of high school this week, said he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life but hoped running track would help him get into college.

For now, he said he was glad his job was pretty easy.

"Most of the people that come in here are pretty chill," he said. "Especially the U of R kids."

Contact staff writer Emily Viviani at emily.viviani@richmond.edu