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@guru your post should be taken with a pinch of salt...since u sold out...u have become anti Safaricom...LOL...

As a shareholder, I shall feed the cow that gives me milk and good value.

Safcom IT IS.

Okaaay!!

Sufferingcon is driving me INZAIN!

Safcom mpesa accounts up by 1.7m which sounds better?zain 500k or saf 1.7m

Do you realize the 500k is in only 1 week??
Safcons did theirs in a year.... And another thing is that these 1.7m might have already been safcon subscribers..

Its a bad war zain cant win it.

My people, our customers,


It is what we call smart, in touch with customer needs decisions. Safaricom does not engage in price wars but listens to its customers while taking care of its shareholder’s interests. The recent price changes by Zain, and indeed their childish games of mounting loud speakers at Safaricom’s headquarters for a whole day goes to prove how out of touch with their customers they are. The noises, if meant to be part of their advertisement policy, would have been more effective if made at a crowded market place of the true customer, and not trying to convert Safaricom employees to be their customers. Its not the first time, it won’t be the last, and quite frankly a waste of time.

Safaricom took its time to listen. Indeed, the voice market in Kenya has been over-priced. This has mainly been driven by CCK’s interconnect fees. It was only a matter of time for Safaricom to lower its tariffs to more affordable rates since there was no motivation to continue charging high rates when CCK has lowered the inter-connect rate.

Most of our customers have always advocated for recognition when they buy Safaricom services, and especially when they spend more. It was in this light that Safaricom decided to put spending rates in the customer’s hands. It all started with Supa Ongea Tariff, and now, if you load 100 shillings worth of airtime in your phone, you make calls much cheaper than our less amiable competitor’s rates.

Did you know that Our competitor’s tariff is per minute? I called their call center last evening, and I was promptly told it’s that way because it is much cheaper. Zain may have gotten cheaper, but their dirty tricks of not disclosing all the terms and conditions of their charges still prevails. Safaricom’s tariffs have always been on a per second billing. We started that game, need I remind you, when Zain’s (then KenCell) way of doing business was to deduct 57 shillings for every 300 shillings voucher you bought, and still you would be charged per minute at 36 shillings. Meaning, every call you make, if the call ended at 1.000000000001 minutes, you would pay 72 shillings for it. Do you see that trend here? Old dogs don’t really learn new tricks, do they?

Well, most would dismiss this as wounded lion’s reaction, but it is just the truth. Safaricom will only charge you 2 shillings per minute or 3.33 cents per second if you load your phone with airtime of 100 shillings and above. Zain will still charge you a full 3 shillings for every second until it clocks 60 seconds. If your call ends at 10 seconds, its still 3 shillings. If it ends at 1 minute 1 second and 2 milli-seconds (like David Rudisha’s record breaking time), it will be 6 shillings. So who is kidding who?

Safaricom decided to start out as a promotion, but I am sure of this. With the reaction this is getting, it will be made permanent. This is why. By clearly targeting increased volume through offering better rates the more you spend, Safaricom ensures that the cut in price is matched by increase in volume. That is what people who care about their shareholders (especially if those shareholders are nationals in the country the operate) do. The last thing you want to happen is to make Kenyans even poorer. Who owns Zain? Is it trading at the stock exchange? Safaricom is not saying you should cling to it just because you are Kenyan. Safaricom says welcome to the better option because you deserve it. Because it is cheaper. Because it is the most innovative company this side of the Sahara. Because it holds the enviable position of the most profitable company this side of the Sahara. And that, ladies and gentlemen, comes with a greater social responsibility. These values must be upheld for an organization in that position that cares.

So, Safaricom does not view what is currently going on in the market as child’s play like Zain would like you to believe. Ask Zain what is happening to their sales. When next you go to a dealer shop that sells bothe Safaricom and Zain airtime, ask then if Zain airtime is still moving. Ask them how sales are with Safaricom airtime, and what denominations are moving. That will cement the difference between a clear thinking, visionary company does versus what a reactionary, short sighted one does. Speaking of short sightedness, Safaricom has been on 3G for the last 2 years now. Zain is just launching their 3G network. Safaricom is in the process of launching 4G. The data business beckons and the frontier has already been raided by Safaricom, while Zain still plays catch-up on the voice front.

People have said to me, “We welcome Indians because of their shrewdness in doing business. Well, Safaricom is ready for them. Kenyans are ready for then. It’s a level playing field, and its Zain’s to gain and Safaricom’s to lose. Let’s see if indeed we Kenyans can lose to the Indian companies on our home tuff. Essar has been here for a while. Essar who?

Simply put, start caring about Zain, Essar, Orange, and any other that may come in after they list on the stock exchange. After they give Kenyans a chance to share in their profits. After they appoint Kenyans to their boards. After they employ Kenyans in higher level management positions. After they become visionary. After they start giving back to society. After they become cheaper. After they exercise some maturity. After they stop changing ownership like underwear. After they start caring about you and what you think. After they start giving stable jobs with benefits to fellow Kenyans. After they become Kenyan.

I beg to bow out. I am staying with Safaricom!

@ken1979

Thanks for that interesting post. I have three phones, safcom, zain and orange (which I hardly use). Zain charges per second, otherwise how I have a balance of 274.23 KES?