Business Manners

The other day, people from a VERY major company came to LINC without an appointment. It's not so unusual for sales people to drop by without appointments, but these people looked
different: distinguished looking, aged in their mid-40's, and with gray hair.
Of course they were looking for our president, but he was out. Then they asked me to find our "Number Two". I thought that was strange for them to use that term, because it's not polite
speech and you normally wouldn't use such a term in front of customers and clients. The usual term is "vice president" or "senior manager". Anyway, I suggested that they leave their
meishi so that I could pass their message on to Terrie, and maybe arrange an appointment in the future. But, they insisted on meeting the "Number Two", even though they admitted
they were just dropping to say hello. Plus, and this is unbelievable, they forgot to bring business cards with them!
I suppose that they didn't appreciate my suggestion to come back some other time. However, at least I believe it's basic manners in Japanese business to exchange cards, and I wonder how they, with more than 20 year's work experience, forgot to bring their meishi when visiting?!