I used to work in the laboratory business and must make a couple of points if I may?
Commercial film/digital scanning is like any other tool in the photographic industry, which relies on two factors
1.That the machine and all its software is properly set up by the manufacturer. As with any PC driven machine there are hundreds of software permutations, including saturation, 'sharpening', the size of operator adjustment increments.. the list is huge and it is a time consuming business to set up.
2.The operator of the machine must know what they are doing. All machines have an automatic setting that can scan a whole film in about ten seconds, and some firms use this. Others use pre-judged print settings where the operator makes adjustments to each print from an initial suggestion the machine provides. If the operator is a numpty it might be better to let the machine run on auto!
The bulk photographic processors (and we know who they are) are forced by their own price-sensitive tactics to print everything as fast as possible. If 10% of the work is rubbish, too bad - they haven't got time to go back and fix these. The profit margins on these operations is incredibly fine - I once heard a Kodak rep say that a high volume processor makes its profit entirely from the silver recovered from the film and paper.
It is seldom the machines fault if prints turn out badly. Overall, the quality of machines now, including the scanning , is extra-ordinary. No, it is the human element that lets things down, just as it always has...aren't cameras in the same category?!!! My best advice is to ignore how the film or prints are produced but find out what the company is like: How? Phone them up - if they don't have time to talk to you and be courteous then can you expect them to treat your precious films any better?
If you want reliably good prints then be prepared to pay a little more for them - don't end up being the "10% too bad".

Anyway - There are some beautiful clouds in the sky and I'm off out before any more of this snow melts!!