I feel like I use strangers as unwitting tools in my own psychological therapy all the time, but yes here it's sketchy because rejecting someone (the intended response) is an unpleasant activity.
This could be discouraging towards “new” employees though. Maybe they should walk around and learn getting rejected… oh well
I may not like it, but people regularly approach to ask for money, to sign up for a recurring donation, to sign a petition, to give a flyer, to sell a CD of music (yes, even in modern times), or to give a product sample. I may also get photographed by a street photographer. A small request that can help someone with their problems looks relatively mild compared to most of these other actions.