All our LQS's will gladly cut FQ's for customers, or at least the ones I have been to.
The reasom for FQ's on the pattern may be the sizes of the different pieces you will need. A 1/4 yd of fabric is only 9" wide by the length of the fabric. Therefore if a particular piece was more than 8 1/2" in both directions you might not have enough fabric. I tend to allow extra 'wiggle room' for cutting my fabric.