Would "Greetings" be a better word to greet someone any time than the word "Hello"?

Would "greetings" be a better word to greet someone anytime than the word "hello"?

Let say I meet Mr. Jackson at 2pm and Mr. Anderson at 7pm. Would it be better to greet them as "Greetings Mr. Jackson" and "Greetings Mr. Anderson" than "Hello, Mr. Jackson" and "Hello, Mr. Anderson"?

I wish to greet my customers in a polite manner, so would the word "greetings" be more "polite" than the word "hello"?

Solution 1:

As mentioned previously greetings does seem very old fashioned to me as a native English speaker. But it's not wrong. I think it depends a lot on the cultural setting. If for instance you are not speaking in your native language it would be interpreted as being polite and considerate. If you are a native speaker and speaking with another native speaker, a simple hello would be fine. I think it also depends if you are greeting a single person or many people at the same time. Hello all, hello everyone, or welcome eveyone (if you are greeting tham at an event, to a meeting etc) is quite acceptable when meeting several people at the same time. If you are greeting one person, a more personal follow-up, such as How are you? I hope you had a good journey. Perhaps you would like a drink? Is quite fitting.

Solution 2:

I think in many places "Greetings" will sound very formal and archaic. To my ear, it sounds almost like a mockery, because nobody ever says that (where I'm from, any way) in real life.

"Hello." I think is perfectly acceptable, but maybe a bit abrupt in a business relationship. "Hello, how are you today?" would likely sound better.

If you're greeting someone entering a store or place of business, it would be appropriate to say "Welcome to [business name], how may I assist you?"

Solution 3:

"Hello" is polite but if you feel you would like to say something less common then maybe "How do you do?" A much under-used greeting.

I think "Greetings Mr Smith" is possibly too formal, possibly anachronistic.

Solution 4:

In a very formal context, you might say "Good afternoon" and "Good evening".

"Greetings" would really only be appropriate these days in an ironic fashion (say, if you were doing an impression of Teal'c from Stargate SG-1).