Due to the rebate, I went ahead and bought a performance center 45. The trigger is the worst of any weapon I have (and I have a number of them). It grinds on the polymer frame all the way through. I called the customer service center and they sent me a hat. It appears that I am going to have to do a trigger job as I have had to do with so many of my other weapons. It just kinda ticks me off. I would have thought that I would not have to do it with a weapon from the performance center. Maybe not so much performance?
I got the $75 rebate, but that is going to be used up pretty quick on a trigger job.

I have two non-PC Shields, a 9mm and a .45 cal. Both had somewhat stiff and gritty triggers out of the box, but somewhere between 500 and 1000 rounds, they smoothed out and became quite nice to shoot, as good as my SIG P320. My advice is to spend your rebate on high quality ammo, and shoot the heck out of your Shield. (You were going to do that anyway, right?) You might be pleasantly surprised at how good a Shield trigger can become, and you will have saved money on an aftermarket trigger job. After a thousand rounds, if you still don't like the trigger, you can always replace it. My Shield .45 has become an excellent gun, and it is currently my everyday carry pistol. Once it's broken in, I think you'll really enjoy yours.

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What, me worry?

Yeah my PC 45 smoothed out with use as well.

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Endeavor To Persevere

Agree that trigger time will make a lot of difference. Live fire or dry firing will soon produce the smooth trigger that you are seeking. Most of the gritty feeling on my .45 came from the action of the trigger safety button as it moved in and out of the slide.