It's a little difficult getting film developed nowadays. If you are looking for anything out of the ordinary, anything other than "Two sets of 4x6 prints", look out because you are in for trouble. I don't take much film, being solidly converted to digital now. But when I do, I just want the film developed, I don't want prints. I take the developed film back home and scan the pictures I want to keep. But the clerks at places like CVS, who have been given instructions on how to press the big red button on the fully-automated Kodak C-41 developer and not much else, have no idea how to handle a request like that.
After being turned down by Target (my film cartridge was returned after about a week and a half with "Service Not Provided" stamped on it), and with photography shops that develop film getting fewer and far between, I turned to CVS. The perky girl at the counter looked at me like I had a monkey mask on when I told her I just wanted development and no prints. After a thorough explanation, it finally dawned on her that she could run the negative strip through the C-41 developer but not through the printer. She proclaimed that she could do that, and told me it would take about ten minutes. I got the distinct feeling that she was still mulling my request over in her head, wondering how or why anyone would want a developed film strip with no prints to show Grandma.
After ten minutes the film was developed. She rolled it up and gave it to me with a funny look on her face (my monkey mask must have still been in place). I asked her how much I owed her for it and she almost laughed out loud. With a charming smile, looking at me as if I were a child, she said "I'm not going to CHARGE you for that, silly. You're so cute!"
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