Quinte Fishing

I have finally prioritized some time to communicate an experience with Shimano fishing gear.
The facts are presented below, and you can draw your own conclusions.

Last spring my 10 year old son and I attended the quinte outdoor show. My son was particularly excited to attend, as he had the "green light" to purchase his own fishing rod and reel.
Aside from the "snoopy rods" that belonged to him and his sisters, his only other gear technically belonged to me. I recalled from my childhood how great it felt to have your "own" rod and reel, and was happy to share in his excitement.
After a couple tours of the tackle room, we zeroed in on a Shimano combo kit. The price was right, and it included some bonus baits - plastics, jig heads, and a lure. The rig was encapsulated in rigid plastic, as is everything in today’s age, so I was unable to do any "arena" testing of the equipment. However, given that Shimano was plastered on every piece, I was confident that the quality was there.
A couple months later my son was burning to try out his new gear. I had intentionally put the package in the basement out of sight until the season was open, in an attempt to stop the requests of when he could try out "his" new rod and reel. Time constraints did not allow us to take the boat out that day, but we agreed that fishing from shore would do just fine.
Removing the rig from the packaging was a chore in itself, and I was disappointed to find that some of the plastics had "welded" themselves to the packaging. However, I did not make a big deal out of this, as I did not want to spoil the fun. Then came the rod and pre-spooled reel. I knew immediately the line was going to be an issue, as it was so coarse; it wasn't long after that, I knew the reel was going to present challenges as well. The reel had just one stop point on the anti-reverse.
Unfortunately I found myself between a rock and a hard place; we were at the fishing destination and my son was so excited to try his new stuff, and I just knew it was going to end poorly. Rightly or wrongly I rigged up a bait and let him test it out. Immediately he was frustrated with line tangles. Let me qualify this by stating that he has successfully used open faced spinning reels on many occasions.
I was able to salvage a bit of his confidence as I pointed out that the line was very "wiry" and even caused issues when I attempted some casts. My son was still convinced it was him, and when I insisted it wasn't, he felt equally bad that he had bought some "crappy" equipment. I too felt bad, as parents are there to protect our kids, no matter what causes their tears!
I contacted Shimano customer service a few days later, and they were sorry to hear about my experience. But that was about the extent of it. As I had not retained the receipt from the retailer, there was really no recourse. I agree that I should have kept the receipt ( I couldn't even recall the retailer name), but I reiterated my point that "Shimano" was identified on each piece of equipment.
I eventually spoke with a manager, and they explained that if I felt the product was defective I could return it, at my cost, to have it inspected. This idea seemed cost prohibitive, as the shipping costs would likely represent a significant portion of the purchase price.
I stated that I was unable to declare the product defective, as neither the customer service person nor the manager were able to tell me if the reel was designed with a one point reverse stop. I also stated, that defective or not, it was definitely inferior.
Unsuccessfully, I also inquired about returning the product and upgrading to a "higher" level of product, as the rep referred to the reel as a "lower" end model, somewhat condescendingly. I acknowledged that we did not pay a fortune for the combo, but that we expected the equipment to function.
With about $35 in, and my priceless frustration I gave up.
What really concerns me is that this could have been a first time experience for a kid and or parent.
It baffles me how a manufacturer could expect to get kids “hooked on fishing”, with inferior product or service, whichever the case may be.
I explained to Shimano that I happily own a great deal of their gear, but that I will think twice next time I see their label.
p.s. I was outfished by my son a couple times this season, on my gear! When asked about his rod and reel, I unfortunately hadn’t found time to respool. Next spring we will revisit buying my son a rod and reel, myself as a much more educated consumer!

That's to bad that your sons first fishing experience with his own combo didn't turn out so well. I know of the combo that your are talking about and still see it in stores.When I was younger I would ask for a new rod or reel for all Speacial occasions , and on a couple different times had received that combo. Only difference now is that it's a lot cheaper(price). It wasn't the greatest but I learnt how to cast and tie lures, and especially the importance of line memory as the line is pretty well guarnteed to go for a crap after being in a pack for so long. Even though the bargin pack wasn't very good, you have to remember it's totally meant for a beginner!! While not the best combo, I'm not sure of any other manufacture of a rod, reel, line, and tackle for 35$. Personally , I notice so many good rods out there for cheap that it's crazy these days. If you wait till it's the spring and all the sales are on you can get awsome deals.i have all shimano equipment and love it all!!! Any problem I drive to Peterborough were I can have fixed with no problem( been twice both times my fault, received brand new models).
I have seen carrots sticks at protackle for 99$ amazing!!,
I have seen cumara at gagnon sport 99$, this yr was crucials for 99$.
These are a lot better quality and when I was young if I'd have received a rod like these would have passed out with excitement.
A good idea , would be to take that rod and feel and donate it at the the bass pro spring sale and up grade to better model.reel will save you 15$ and rod will save you 15$ if you spend a 100$. Trade in reel and buy a rod for 85$ and a pflueger president reel if you wanted to get into better equipment, but I have seen lots of good combos for around 75$ bass pro full of them!!