SBC or Me?

Cynthia and I have redecorated our living room complete with new furniture. That fact stated there were some logistical problems to work out as the entertainment center had to be relocated. As we have TiVo (a necessity if you don't want to miss an episode of "Desperate Housewives" or "Blind Justice") it is necessary that a phone jack be available for this electronic wonder. So....being the capable man of the house that I am, I promptly called SBC to have said jack installed. I was informed that they would be happy to do this.....for $110. $110??? After learning that this did not include a new phone or massage I informed them that I would do the job myself, thank you very much! Well, after a trip to Home Depot and $15 later, I was ready to tackle the job. Guess what? I did it!! Drilled a hole in the brick wall, routed the cable through it and attached it to a jack that I had purchased. I then routed the cable to the phone box, taking the time to tie the cable to the other cables running underneath the overhang, and attached the appropriate wires to the terminals. One hour later I had a very professional job completed for $15. Beats $110 all to heck!! What is it with over inflated prices from these monopolies who service our homes? What makes them think we will be willing to pay exorbitant prices for minor jobs like that? SBC is not alone in this type of practice. You will pay $60 for the first jack from Cox and $10 per jack thereafter, $25 for some yahoo at the gas company to switch your account to a new residence, the same for your water account to be switched, and on and on. Whatever happened to an honest day's wages? While I don't mind paying someone for their labor I can't see sending their kids to college as well!! Thank you for allowing me to vent my spleen in a healthy manner as I am outraged at price gouging and shoddy work to boot! Anyway, SBC or Me? Why, me of course!!