Not necessarily true. I rented a bike on vacation and had the shop set me up with spd pedals like I use at home, just packed my bike shoes. When I got out to ride I discovered that one pedal was fine, and the other was fine on one side, but cranked completely tight on the other. If I happened to clip into that pedal on that side it was near impossible to get that foot out quickly. And of course the one size allen wrench I could have corrected the problem with wasn't in the tool kit they provided.

Once I've gotten used to the pedals clipping in is easy. The only time I've had problems is with new shoes, and then only for a short time till I get used to them.