I think you are doing good, but maybe missing a bit the point of the beginning of this.

cheers

As you will see with the time, Cheap it means better in many cases. Because cheap resources it means more resources.

If you have a call center you need an employee with enough background to attend the calls, If you search quality, you can contract a partner of BCG for 1’000 €/hour to attend the calls, but the problem is that for this money you can have 100 employees with enough background to do the job, and belive me is better have 100 employees, that just one.

On Fon seems that happens a similar problem, martin says that they are “understaffed” but they can not spent more money, so I propoused him a solution to try to obtain a higher marginality in each Euro that he spents on Customer service.

My proposal is not based in to save money and cheaper hand work, is based into solve problems and offer a better service.

I’m agree with you students job, use to be a fraud,

That’s why I’m proposing something good to the company and to the students… I think that have a student job well remunerated and with the flexibilty that I propouse, it’s the wet dream of a lot of students, at least was my case. Have 300€ per month for a 40 hours of work is amazing… specially If during the peaks of jobyou can increase your working hours and earn much money…. That’s wonderful…

That it’s unfair, is to have a student job bad paid (or not paid) based in the promises that they are helping to develop your professional skills, when in fact you’re the stupid guy that do the ugly jobs that doesn’t have nothing to see with your professional skills.

I have a error :
Failed to identify

the community has also created http://www.fonboard.de for the German, http://www.fonboard.nl for the Dutch

You contact customersupport only to ask
1) what’s the status of my order? trackingcode
2) I’d like to unregister my fonera
3) I’d like to report rma
4) i’d like to move my fon to other people

FON has not created automated processes for the above

Most answers are “power recycle”, “reset button”

AFTER read my post I understand why people told me that I am not capable to write when I’m developing an idea…. I should read what I wrotte beafore to send it.

Sorry Shakespeare for what I did to your languaje….

I think Fon it’s a company that is not easy to be managed from the point of view of human resources.

The problem is, that is a company with peaks of job. When you launch a new product, you need a lot of people, when you sign a contract with a new partner, you need a lot of people. But between both moments you live in a valley, where not many workers are necesary…

If you think n Customer services, you can see that usually you shouldn’t have too many demands, but when you launch a new product and you sold 50.000 routers per week, you will have many demands from the new costumers. And when you start the operations with a new partner and you increase on 100.000 users in a week, you will have again more claims.

So the solution maybe is not so easy like increase the number of employees… Probably the solution it will be to find a way that provides you the flexibility that your company need.

So my sugeestions are 2:

1st.- Contract students.
A) They are really cheaper only 2% IRPF not social charges…
B) They need money, not a formal part time job, so you can have a list with 20 students who knows about Fon, and about the Firmware… So this 20 can be Fon Recurrent staff, when you need 5 employees you can call them, when you need 10 you can calll them, and you allways now that you will have employees with enough knowdolege and backgraund from the company, that will be ready to help you on the peack seasons, during the rest of the time, they only can work 40 hours per month…
And this 20 employees only will cost you 6.122€ per month (2/3 full time employees salary) each one will earn net 300 € per a 40 hours of work in a month…. So for this 6.122€ you increase the numbers of monthly hours on 800.. Like to have 5 extra employes.
But the best is that when you will find a peack of Job, you will have the capabality to increse your number of employees to satisfy the increase of Job… And that will not hurt your P&L, because is a cheap and flexible way, it means extra job, extra incomes.
I don’t know If I explained well my idea…
C) You help to many students to have money, you also help them to have a contact with a IT multinational, and of course that help you to choose the better employees, because you will have experience of how they work…

2nd.- Search a Partner in India, specially for Customer service, because there you can have a customer service open 24h per day, so Japaneses will not need to wait that your spanish employes wake up… Also the company will have the capability to attend the increases of Job, AND OF COURSE THEY WILL CHEAPER THAN SPANISH…
By the way, you will be travelling to a new place so we will enjoy of new videos…
The way to do that is contract 2 Customer services controllers to work with you in Spain, so you will control what happened…
You have many america friends that currently are using Indian companies for Customer service, so, you only need to ask them…

I do not understand a lot of people on this blog. They criticise you for trying to make FON profitable. Well, in my opinion paying your 40 employee´s salary should be first.

Venture backed startup reality in 2009 and 2010 is to focus on the customers first – whatever it costs. Well, besides from Twitter, Facebook and a few others this does not work. Focus should be on the product. And the product is made by the company employees.

So what is wrong with FON: FOCUS!

You should decide for and mantain a single focus: Either you focus on the “Millions of Foneras Community” or you focus on Router functionalities to rival AVM an other companies. But trying to get a big market share of WiFi *and* trying to bring out the most versatile router will not work – with 40 people.

So trash the Fonera 2.0n and focus on the SIMPL