I did not (Ceasarstone Organic White), but I did make a trip to the fabricator before they laid out the templates on the slabs to be sure they avoided any obvious mars (and there will be some that are not considered out of the ordinary as far as manufacturing specifications go), or at least, put them in the right place. As it turned out, they had already laid them out perfectly, but I could have re-arranged them had I wanted/needed to.

I don't think it's a "yard" like in the granite days.

It's like Corian. It's a manufactured product created on an assembly line--arrives as sheet goods from the manufacturer after going through QA. I would seem like it's just the seams you need to worry about, not consistency with color samples?

Do I have this wrong?

I did. Our first Caesarstone countertops had several white resin blobs that weren't templated around. Looked like paint smears and I was very disappoined. Fortunately we had to have our counters removed for another reason, and we switched to Pentalquartz so we could view slabs locally. One of the slabs had a resin blob, so we had them show us another. Our fabricator told us to makes sure we picked slabs from the same lot as there is some variation. Many quartz owners have commented here that their counters didn't look exactly like their sample, so don't let anybody tell you it's all exactly the same because it's man-made.

I'm going to be getting Quartz later this Summer. I'm buying it directly from the fabricator who buys it from the company that makes the slabs.
They order the slabs, then the fabricator cuts it down to the size of your counter templates.
It is a yard where I am going, I can hear them cutting stone every time I drive up.
I was going to to with Silestone Lagoon, but after seeing LG Viatera's Minuet, I like it better because it's more of a creamy white rather than grey tone of Lagoon.
The link here doesn't show how pretty it really is because of monitor screens.

http://www.lgviaterausa.com/products/16/187

I was told that once they template and order, I have to come to the yard and approve it before they begin to cut the stone.

I apparently do have it wrong. While factory-made, the material itself is naturally inconsistent.

Per LG fabrication guide:

"Because Viatera incorporates high-quality natural minerals from the Earth, there can be slight color variations and particulate concentrations, just as in natural stone surfaces. This adds to the authentic natural look Viatera."

Good to know for those getting quartz!

ChrisinSD, do you have pics of your countertops, yet? I looked at Minuet today and really liked it. Am also looking at Pental Lattice. Lagoon was at top of my list (after ruling at Frosty Carrina due to obscene price!).