The Loyalty Tax
thuh LOY-ul-tee taksnoun
DiagnosisChronic, self-inflicted by trust
What it means
The surcharge paid for not shopping around, applied to everybody who assumed that staying would eventually be rewarded.
What it actually means
New customers get the discount. Existing ones fund it.
How it is used in a sentence
"My renewal quote was double the new customer price. The loyalty tax."
Filed under
Systemic Absurdities — Prices, platforms and institutions that were designed this way and would prefer you assumed otherwise.
Coinage — There was no phrase for this. We supplied one.
Related entries
Shrinkflation
Systemic Absurditiesshrink-FLAY-shunnounDiagnosis
Reducing what the customer receives while holding the price, on the assumption that nobody reads the weight alongside the cost.
Real meaningIt costs the same and there is less of it.
Subscription Fatigue
Systemic Absurditiessub-SKRIP-shun fuh-TEEGnounCoinage
The exhaustion of paying monthly for things that used to be a purchase, a possession, or included.
Real meaningI own nothing and pay for everything.