I think the chrome shop selected just has a world view that most of his customers want.
Many bike parts when chromed originally were done on the cheap, the copper step skipped, (one reason you need the replate), or the thickness was reduced because of the cost.
I have a very prestigeous bike that the original fork chrome never got a copper layer, it was nickel then chrome, and not much of it! The builder trusted the plater...
As Otis states, getting back the parts after the chrome is stripped and tuning the surface yourself provides much control, and stampings can be rescribed to help not have them get buffed away. The higher the polish to begin with, the less post copper buffing is required, this will give the best chance for the retention of detail. What you don't want is a second layer of copper after the buffed through half of the first pass. Copper is the softest of the layers and is the layer buffed the most to provide a uniform surface.