Earlier quoted context omitted.
As an aside, I cannot stand people being rude to people that they perceive as the receptionist or somehow lesser in stature to them. Take someone out to lunch and watch how they interact with the waiter and that will tell you a lot about their character.
A receptionist is in lesser stature to you, though—you're trying to deal with the receptionist's boss as an equal, so when you get the boss's subordinate, they are then logically your subordinate as well (assuming transitivity of classism.) To put it another way—no matter how old you are, your friend's little brother has less stature than you. I'm not saying this is right or proper—but this is how the math works, whe…
At US companies--I can't speak to how things work in Japan--departmental admins/secretaries often wield an enormous amount of influence and can absolutely help or hurt you. A personal secretary almost always has the ability to help you if they choose to. Your attitude toward them can make a difference.