At the end of the day, they lost a customer that will bad mouth them every chance he gets. I do see though that my miniscule negative effect to their bottom line is far more than offset by the positive effects of their strategy overall.
There is a conflict to this philosophy though. Dealerships will stoop to despicable levels for a buck, theoretically demonstrating desperation, although it could be argued that these types are simply not comfortable in life unless they're doing something unethical. Despite that, they'll turn around and throw a potential sale away which required no more than a few seconds of typing to get. Now I understand most people might turn it into a huge conversation like suggested above, but that's not me. One or two simple questions answered and I would have shown up and bought the vehicle.
It's almost as if they are not comfortable with a legitimate sale earned in an ethical, professional manner. There has to be some sort of manipulation involved, or it just isn't worth it!