Actually, their 3-step process goes like this:
1) They accept your application and then say to come sit down for an interview
2) the hiring manager talks to you, then he goes to the the head dude
3) the hiring manager tells the head dude to say "yes" or "no"
The whole reason they have a "hiring manager" (who is often just an employee dragged off the floor for a day to do interviews) is because the "head dude" doesn't want to waste his time doing interviews, else he'd already be the one doing them. He uses the hired help to do the heavy lifting and they give him a "yes" or "no" that he then approves (or sometimes denies).
People end up liking me the more they talk to me.
That's good, unless your objective is to get a job from the interview. You want them to like you, of course, but don't forget that the real reason you're there is to get a job.