Folks Brave 25-Below Wind Chills for Crack at New Verizon iPhone

When Peter Baird, the manager of the Plainfield store, got to work at 4:30 this morning, seven iPhone fanatics were shivering on the doorstep in nearly 25-below zero wind chills. 

“The woman at the front of the line was sitting against the door, all wrapped up in a blanket,” Baird said. 

By the time Baird unlocked the doors at 7:30 a.m. to face the first day Verizon customers could buy an iPhone in its stores, about 15 half-frozen customers rushed in to grab up their fancy new Verizon smart phones. 

In Chicago, there are reports of Verizon buyers braving frost bite this morning in lines that wrapped around buildings. 

You have to wonder how smart those pre-dawn, sub- zero iPhone enthusiasts were, at least in our neck of the woods. By about 10 a.m., employees outnumbered customers in the Plainfield Verizon store, at 12632 S Route 59, by more than five to one.

Verizon has been training staff on all the fine points of iPhone sales and service in preparation for today’s big in-store launch. A security guard was standing by for crowd control. Stanchions placed outside to manage customer flow came down earlier this morning, the store manager said. 

Even so, Baird figures he’ll move every iPhone he has in stock before he closes up tonight. 

“There was a big rush this morning and I expect it to stay steady all day long,” he said.