apple genius asked for passcode - broken screen fix

I took my iPhone 6 to the Apple store last night for a broken screen.

When I was submitting my phone to be fixed, the Apple Genius asked for my passcode to unlock the device, he said they would need this to calibrate the display/device. He also asked me to shut off Find my phone.

After much questioning and some reservation (I have apple pay setup with multiple cards, personal photos, personal information on the device), I gave him the passcode because as he explained, they wouldn't be able to completely verify the repair without it.

This still seems very odd to me. Has anyone else brought their phone in for a screen repair and been asked for the passcode to unlock the device?

Note: I was at the store near closing time (no time to repair it while I was there), so I left my phone overnight to be picked up the next day.

thanks