Scott,
My wife & I ran a wedding photo business on the side for 18 years. I would always work on the images before running them as proofs for the customer to see. For most images I would just do the basics. For a few I would make several different enhancements to show examples of what we could do to any of the images. Usually took 2,000 to 3,000 images during a wedding. I would delete the really bad, missed focus, etc..
I did this on the side while working a 50hr a week job. If I can do it, I would expect any professional to do it.
You are not off base at all.
Mark