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I think it's good that Penn has a new marketing guy that shows some interest in what the customer thinks, but it's going to take a lot more than that to turn the Penn ship around. Knowledgeable fishermen have been complaining about the same problems for years . . . and a lot of it was very fixable stuff. Unfortunately, Penn did nothing to address the problems and comes off as a company too stupid to get out of its own way. I've been surprised they've retained as much loyalty as they have - that's a real tribute to the patriotic sensibilities of fishermen.
I swore the 5500SS was the last Penn reel I'd ever buy, what a piece of junk! I ended up buying a 560 Slammer and I've been mostly satisfied with it - not a perfect reel, but I think it's a pretty good value compared to other reels in the same price range. Without the Slammer series Penn's surfcasting presence would be limited to greenie parts on E-Bay by now. I hope Penn can turn it around, and I think a lot of other fisherman feel the same way. But if they don't, there won't be many Penn loyalists left to attend the funeral.
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