Safaricom is today 19 years old and true to the company’s ‘birthday tradition’, its customers have something to smile about. Last year, Safaricom marked its 18th anniversary with a campaign dubbed ‘Nawe Kila Wakati’ where customers received 18 minutes of talk time every day for Ksh.18. The promotion ran until December 12 and subscribers were allowed to redeem the talk time once per day.

This year, Safaricom is introducing Data bundles that do not expire. Gone is the mad rush to blow hundreds of MBs because their validity period is running out.

To access the bundles that don’t expire, Safaricom subscribers can dial *544# where they will get a new menu with three options; data bundles, calls, and SMS and also the normal bundles with an expiry date.

Customers who dial *544# now have two new options:

  • Data Bundle (NO EXPIRY DATE)Calls & SMS (NO EXPIRY DATE)Normal Data Bundle WITH EXPIRYCheck Balance

The biggest difference between these new bundles and the old bundles is not only the expiry date but also you get to input how much you want to spend and the system will show you how many bundles you will get for that amount.

New Strategy

Today, Safaricom has also unveiled a new strategy and renewed its commitment to its customers. Under the new structure, Safaricom is committing to be Simple, Transparent and Honest across all its products and operations.

A statement from Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said:

In its bid to be more transparent, Safaricom has also revamped the *100# menu. In addition to the Data Manager where customers can stop their airtime from being used when they run out of data bundles, customers will also have the power to see and stop promotional messages.

The company also assured customers that they will now be served within 5 minutes that they lodge complaints. There will also be free WiFi at all Safaricom shops and one can also get a SIM card with a phone number of their choice.

Redone *100# Menu

Safaricom Customers can also view how much data they have used, get their PUK and much more on the new *100# menu. The company has also increased its data bundle sizes under the new plan by more than 45 percent especially for the more affordable price points of between KES 1 and KES 20. A customer purchasing KES 5 worth of bundles will now get 10 MB with no expiry up from 7 MB that would expire in 24 hours.

These are all major moves by Kenya’s biggest telco and a top player in the African scene. More streamlined customer service by Safaricom is a sure way to get itself in good books with many Kenyans who complain of Safaricom’s pricy products compared to the competition.