I think it makes a difference what the appointment was for and whose secretary it was, yours or the other person’s. And also I’d weigh in what your relationship is to the other person. I see a huge difference among these situations, just to take examples:
— The VP’s secretary sets up an appointment for you to talk to the VP about your candidacy for a promotion, and she gives you a time that’s an hour early, causing you to wait—or an hour late, causing you to miss the appointment.
— You are the VP, and your secretary misinforms you about what time you are supposed to hold your staff meeting.
— The department secretary sets up a conference call for you with your peer in another state, and you are given a wrong call start time.
Why can’t you say “There seems to have been a mistake in the schedule” and then take it up with the secretary privately? The secretary should treat all engagements with care and double-check so no one is ever caught in this situation.