How it works
The pattern typically appears as booking fees, service fees, processing fees, platform fees, convenience fees, or similar transaction-level charges layered onto a digital workflow.
The CHI question is not whether processing has a cost. It is whether the fee remains proportionate and intelligible when the customer is performing a substantial share of the work that the fee ostensibly supports.
Recognition checklist
What to look for
The customer performs the transaction
Search, booking, entry, check-in, ticket delivery, or other work is handled primarily through self-service.
An additional fee remains
A separate charge is added for processing, booking, service, convenience, or platform access.
Efficiency is monetized twice
Technology lowers the provider's service burden while the customer also pays an incremental fee.
Where it appears
Associated companies
Important distinction
A service fee can reflect a real cost.
CHI does not assume every transaction fee is hostile. The relevant questions are transparency, proportionality, avoidability, and whether the provider is charging the customer for “convenience” while simultaneously transferring labor to them.