I'm sure there is some sort of QC but probably fairly lax. The outer box (not the shiney printed one) the unit came in from the distributor had 'made in china' printed on it and had me somewhat worried. I've bought gym equipment that was "designed and engineered in the USA" but "made with quality" in China. What a load of crap that was. The build quality was awful. That could be the case here too.
The store said they'll exchange it and I will have a new one by Monday. My only worry now is that there will be something else wrong with the new one. Too bad I couldn't just keep the stick from this one and exchange the throttle. I'll keep my fingers crossed.