Northern Technologies interview questions

Interview was straightforward- Hour long zoom interview, followed by an hour or two site visit / tour. The people seemed nice, and I got overall good vibes. The hiring manager and director sat with me in a conference room, and told me they could make a “verbal offer” (their exact words). I was shown where I’d sit, and told that the HR team member would be reaching out with an offer letter the following week. They then asked what my salary expectations would be. As I would assume everyone does in a salary negotiation, I named a number on the higher end of what I would have accepted. They told me that might be doable, but they’d have to get approval. They said they would reach out early the next week, and I left excited for my new role. The next week came, and I hadn’t received word from their team. My emails didn’t get a response, and my phone calls went to voicemail. Finally, a day later, the hiring manager reached out to inform me that my number was too high and they’d already made an offer to another applicant. This was without any sort of counteroffer, or even the courtesy of a call or email. Especially for a sourcing role, in which negotiation is a key responsibility, I was really surprised by their bad faith tactics and unprofessional conduct. If this is any indication of how NTIC negotiates as a whole, I consider myself lucky to have dodged a bullet.