In any relationship with a company, customers expect or at least hope that their interactions will require as little effort as possible to get what they want. This means that companies have to make the experience smooth, reliable and efficient. If, for example, customers are shuttled among three different departments (all asking for their customer numbers) before they can accomplish a typical transaction, then the experience generates negative emotion (frustration is the one that researchers agree is most common) and leads to reduced sales and loyalty.