My partner applied for a position in an industry that is super competitive in my state (teaching) and the prospective employer took her through the entire interview (40 minutes), after which they shook her hand and said, “oh, by the way, we already filled your position but, we liked you on paper.”

My partner was very polite and respectful as she always is, but she skipped a job interview at another place that DID have a position open for this one, only to find out that they already filled this one? Am I the only one that finds this not only totally abnormal, but also wildly disrespectful and insulting? Have any of you experienced something like this before? If so, how did you react?