We've always gone to the dealer for routine maintenance on the car,
but its a little less convenient than the local "quick change/quick
lube/etc".

Are there any good reasons for using the dealer?  (Do they tend to do
recall work automatically?  would they know more about their own make
of car and do a better job?  etc?)  Or are these local "quick change"
places just fine for oil change et al?

It will definately vary depending on the dealer you are dealing with.
Some have superb service and will thouroughly check your car in hopes
that you'll be more likely to buy your next car from them.  Others
might like to see your car fall into disrepair so that you'll have to
buy another car sooner and potentially you'd buy from them again.

I have usually gone for the quick, cheap place myself.  They do the
same job, just quicker and cheaper.  The only thing I feel I'm missing
out on is that the dealer is more likely to notice a minor problem in
the car that they can nip in the bud for little or no money.  So I do
go to the dealer if I think there is potentially something wrong...
and atleast once a year.

Unless the recall is an especially dangerous issue then the dealer
will not likely handle it unless you show them the paperwork
associated with the recall.

I think the typical stucture is that Dealers pay a flat rate per job,
and under warranty they get paid a flat rate from the manufacturer. I
have found the dealers like to nickle and dime, plus they charge
10-20% more than the going rate. However some warranty issues are not
clear cut, so a good relationship with a dealer could help.
Independent shops pay mechanics by the hour, which is bad if they are
not busy but great if they are busy. I like to find a shop where they
are busy and if you get your car in by 7:15 they might get to it by
that afternoon. That way they don't have any incentive to create more
work for themselves.
I don't like the quick change places -- usually they should be fine
because oil changes are so easy to do, but one of them flooded my
engine with too much oil many years ago.

If you don't mind paying the extra money definatly go with the dealer.
They will do a better job and make sure everything is fine with the
car. Quick change places tend to use a cheaper oil that is not as high
quality as what the dealerships use.

Oh how lucky you are...
Dealers in Uk charge £50 per hour labour about 75 bucks, they have
just basic mechanics working for them for those 'menial' jobs like oil
changes they will NOT spot any other problems.
Local garages charge you £30-40 per hour for the same job - but if the
job list is large just wont do it, only top the stuff up then just
phone you up and say you need 'this' or 'that' at exorbitant cost for
low wait times - you have it soooo good in the US of A.

Yours
Mr Disgruntled