I agree with Mark 853.
As long as people are prepared to accept that they pay more for the honour of owning a Ducati then I suppose the dealers will keep taking the money. Wouldnt you??
Ducati dealers are supposed to work by a set price servicing scheme whereby if you go to an official franchised dealer the service costings should basically be the same. (Give or take slight variations). It seems ridiculous that some dealers (Eg Ducati Manchester) will do first service f.o.c if bike bought from them whereas others charge just parts and others are charging upto £260.
I agree that you should get work on Ducatis done properly but that shouldnt mean paying through the nose just because of the marque. Dont accept a charge without a bloody good fight!