The job I have right now was so similar to that. The Human Resource person decided that she hated interviewing to the extent that she prepared a 15 page manuscript entitled "Everything that the Interviewee needs to know and a lot of things they don't care about" When I sat in the chair beside her desk and she took this "mini-manual" out of her desk drawer and showed it to me, I about fell out of the chair laughing. It was the funniest thing I had ever read. It contained so much information and had the answers to every question that I had going into the interview, that by the time she was done reading it to me, the only thing I could thing of to ask was "What's your middle name?" (By the way, she said it was Janet, but it really isn't).

When I found out that I needed to also interview for my department and other branches, I went to her and asked if I could run off a few copies of her work so that I could refer to it from time to time. Since my style of interviewing is different, I don't rely on it as heavily.

So, I definately wouldn't say that it is normal to not be asked questions or to be told everything so comprehensively that you have already had all your questions answered, but it does happen on occasion and usually by those interviewers who have done this so often that they just want to get it over with.

As far as the tour of the department. That happens a lot in my experience and cannot always be counted on as anything more than just a friendly little meet and greet. It does happen most often when the interviewer wants to see how you fit in and react to the other people in the department and how they respond to you. Another reason why first impressions are very important.