I got the identical response that you received. Here is how I responded to them:
I'm not satisfied with your boiler plate response, Damarie. Since I, the customer, am paying the cost of shipping, your reason to use a cheaper method is pointless. Just admit that you got suckered into a contract with an exclusive contract with UPS and quit blowing smoke up my backside. Please kick my comment upstairs. I'm not blaming you, but your shipping manager's kickback from UPS is not as important as customer satisfaction.
BigAlnAZ wrote: