Yeah, I agree with this. I've been asked a similar problem to the gas pump one and a brain teaser one as well. The goal for them is to be able to get a better feel for how you deal with the problems, not necessarily the solutions that you come up and how accurate they are.
Being a dick to an interviewer (as basically suggested in comments above) is great if you like being unemployed.
Additionally, though (and I think you're saying this), it's not just how you come up with a solution from a technical/procedural standpoint. It's more - how do you react in situations that are outside of your comfortzone? And as you said, being rude to an interviewer is a sure way to stay outside their company.
