Informal and Polite Spanish Greetings

As we wrote in the last entry, the interchange of greetings between individuals who interact more than just once tend to have some variety and depending on who it is, a varying degree of formaility or informality. This is especially true in Spanish. Below is an hypothetical disourse borrowed form a great book I've read and re-read numerous times called "Breaking Out Beginner's Spanish" by Joe Keenan. His example imagines the arrival of Juan Doe, the assistant director of flange production, at his office. Let's assume for simplicity's sake that every male at the factory has the name Alberto Alvarez and every female Teresa Ruiz.

      • The eighty-year-old doorman
Buenos días, Don Alberto.

      • The security guard:
Buenos días.

      • The sixty-year-old elevator operator:
¿Cómo le va, Dona Tere?

      • The receptionist:
Hola, Tere. ¿Cómo estás?

      • A same-aged colleague in the hall:
¿Qué tal, Alberto?

      • A younger colleague at her desk:
Buenos días, Tere. ¿Qué hay de nuevo?

      • A visiting branch manager:
Buenos días, Señora Ruiz. ¿Cómo le va?

      • A co-worker and best friend:
¿Quiúbole, Beta?

      • The immediate boss:
Hola, Alberto. ¿Cómo estás?

      • An older co-worker:
¿Qué me cuenta, Don Alberto?

      • An employee:
Buenos días, Alberto. ¿Cómo estamos?

      • The division director:
Muy buenos días,Señor Alvarez. ¿Cómo le va?

      • The office boy:
¿Qué pasó, Beta?

      • The factory owner and CEO:

Buenos días, Don Alberto. ¿Cómo está usted?

      • The secretary:
Buenos días, Tere. ¿Qué tal?

By now it's time for Juan's coffee break....