Que tal is not formal

Question

Since the question asked for a formal question as I would be addressing an elderly man, I would only use company esta? I would not use question tal? That is a very informal way of asking and means more ‘how’s everything?’

Accepted Answer

Hola Margaret
¿Qué tal? is also used in Spain to greet an elderly person. We'd probably use it followed by "don/doña" if we want to make it slightly more formal: "¿Qué tal Don Antonio?"
But even if you don't use don/doña, this is still used and it is not considered too informal. For example, an elderly person could be greeted by a bank employee saying something like:

¿Qué tal? Pase y siéntese, for favor.
How are you? Come in and have a sit please.

Saludos
Inma

Answer

So ¿Qué tal? is formal in Spain, but informal in Latin America?