I got the Steam Deck on release. It was a near solid device for me from the get go. Only had the occasional crash/reboot, but I wouldn't describe it as having been clunky.
I love it and use it a lot, but it's not a Nintendo Switch experience, at all.
I got my deck fixed after the warranty period, for example, with very little fuss. They even payed for the shipping of the broken device to them