Convenience Fee
kun-VEEN-yuns feenoun
DiagnosisAcute, unavoidable
What it means
A charge added for the convenience of the company, passed on to you, on the grounds that you had no alternative.
What it actually means
We are charging you for the till.
How it is used in a sentence
"There is a two pound booking fee. For a booking. That I made."
Filed under
Systemic Absurdities — Prices, platforms and institutions that were designed this way and would prefer you assumed otherwise.
Euphemism — The phrase hides something specific. We decode it.
Related entries
Dynamic Pricing
Systemic Absurditiesdy-NAM-ik PRY-singnounEuphemism
Charging different people different amounts for the same thing, described as responsiveness rather than as finding out what you will pay.
Real meaningThe price is whatever you will tolerate right now.
The Loyalty Tax
Systemic Absurditiesthuh LOY-ul-tee taksnounCoinage
The surcharge paid for not shopping around, applied to everybody who assumed that staying would eventually be rewarded.
Real meaningNew customers get the discount. Existing ones fund it.