Ouch!
One of the first things that I learned working in a garage was how other mechanics would do things. I do not know if this has changed, since the 1990s, but you have a strike right between your legs. Most assume that women do not know anything about their vehicles and some will use this to their advantage. This goes back to the days when every woman had a husband who took care of their car. The women never took the car in, only the men. So, more than a few unscrupulous mechanics have charged women far more than what they should, or charge them for work that did not need to be done. This was one of the problems that my employer had with the way I did things. I would explain to them and show them exactly what I was doing, and even quote the law to them so that they could make an "informed decision."
Your first problem is that you are at a dealership. Traditionally, dealerships will charge more than an independent garage for any repair work that they do. This is because they usually trained their mechanics better, have higher standards, and tend to use original equipment manufactured parts. This is not necessarily bad, as long as you have a warranty or have the cash to pay for it, as it keeps your vehicle to specs. However, if you do not have the money or a warranty, it can hurt.
Where I am, even at dealerships, an oil change usually only runs about $45 or $50, if they provide everything. And, being honest, my local dealer for my car only charges $25 for a complete oil change and to look everything over and top things off. The independent garages tend to run about $19.95 or thereabouts for the same work. It goes up slightly if you require more than four or five quarts of oil or need something else like an air filter. Straight up, I could not afford $100 oil change.
Since I am not familiar with your vehicle, I have to ask if this was for all four wheels or just two, the front. For the two front brakes, it sounds high, about double the price. Why? Because I just looked online at my local Volkswagen dealerships and they are doing it for under $200 for the front brakes. Rough estimate would be that $400 would cover all for brakes, assuming they are the same. Of course, if you have rotor damage or need other work done, it can run up just for the front. Usually, bleeding is part of the labor if it needs to be done. Of course, this may have changed in the last 20 years.
Do you have a state inspection? If you do, have they warned you about your brake pads/shoes? Where I am, this is a normal part of the inspection. A good garage will even show you the thickness of the pad and let you make a decision. Since this is not an inspection, they may or may not inform you. The first time that someone hears about this is usually during an inspection if they have state inspections. Otherwise, it may be when they rotate wheels or you are lucky enough for a garage to check.
Before you spend the money on new shoes/pads, try taking it to an independent garage and see what they say. They may or may not charge you to check the brake pads/shoes but it will at least let you know whether or not your dealer is being honest. While you are there, get a price estimate. Usually this is the price per hour multiplied by the number of hours that the job takes, as set forth in a mechanics manual. Or, this was how it was done in my day. If it's set a repair took four hours to do, then you multiplied the shop fee times the four hours to give you your estimate. If it took five hours, but was nothing additional, you were still only charged for the four hours. Therefore, four hours times a $50 an hour labor rate would be $200, which was high then.
People will tell you that dealers are not dishonest. I have seen dishonest dealers and dishonest mechanics. If they think they find a sucker and will not be reported, they will try anything. You, proving women are not stupid, have asked very valid questions and may save yourself from being ripped off. :-)
I had a dealership mechanic tell a customer that their carburetor (back when cars had carburetors) had dissolved in an acid bath. This acid bath was supposed to simply clean the carburetor, not dissolve it. This individual paid more than $500 to get a new carburetor for that particular piece of junk. What happened to the carburetor, however, was that it had been installed on another, similar model, car because the owner did not want to wait for a replacement to come in. The sad thing is that the mechanic was related to the owner of the car which he stole the part off of. For what it's worth, the dealership is now out of business.
I was raised in a family where you did absolutely as much as you possibly could to save money. Therefore, my father and uncle being mechanics, I learned how to repair cars. Even my grandmother impressed on me the importance of watching the mechanics like a hawk. In small towns dealerships and mechanics have to be more careful than they are in large cities where they have higher populations that they can rip off.
Check around before you do anything. Don't take our advice as gospel, either. And, it never hurts to know a little bit about repairing the car yourself in the unfortunate event that you get stuck somewhere and cannot turn to a qualified mechanic. :-)
I hope this helps some.
I have to agree with Martin. This is something that we were told very early on. Always look like you belong, know what's going on, and look cool. Because you asked to see the brake pads they will think you know what's going on even if you're completely lost. He's got one of the best answers on here.