Did you get to talk to them when you dropped it off? That seems to be the key. Let's face it, these jobs don't tend to attract the brightest kids out there, and their work day is monotonous. But if you build up the slightest bit of personal connection it can make all the difference. The old "Still doing a lot of film?" line always seems to work for me if it's a new face. Or "This one has a longer leader, it's from an old Leica." Stuff like that.
In my experience, if I ask for the negs uncut, coiled loose in a plastic bag, they'll do it. Problem is if you're coming back hours later or the next day, the next shift may have crushed that bag under something else. So now I ask them to roll the strip up tight and put it back into the outer canister. Needs a couple of days under books at home to flatten, though.
