Part of the problem some people have, (especially those new to semi-auto's) is they tend to be 'gentle' when racking the slide. Which means they do it slowly, both pulling it back and riding it forward. They're afraid they will somehow damage something, or cause it to fire. I've had to train folks out of this more than once, and explain to them that they need to show the gun who's the boss, and that they aren't physically capable of doing anything to the gun that doesn't happen when it's fired. In other words, GET PHYSICAL WITH THAT SUCKER! Rack it fast and hard. Make some noise!
Personally, I won't have any pistol that can't take some rough love.
Btw, the factory recoil spring weight on the LCPMax is only 9lbs, very light compared to many other pistols.