There's a difference between "Hey Kurt! Nice to see you!" and "We offer some excellent options, Kurt, for things we hope you'll spend money on".
As an example, every time I walk into the Y a guy named John says "Hi Kurt". He did this for roughly two weeks before I even knew his name. While I understand that he won't be calling me on my birthday, the fact that he even knows my name makes me feel more welcome there. It's the exact opposite of the comma-Kurt-comma treatment.
People are exceptionally good at "sensing" dishonesty. I think less is more when it comes to using names, but less is also better than none. Maybe just avoid using someone's name after a comma. :)
I think the key is not to go out of your way to fit a person's name into a sentence you already were planning to say, but instead do things like greeting them by name. As you point out, it's much more likel to be interpreted as being friendly rather than bei manipulative.
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There's a difference between "Hey Kurt! Nice to see you!" and "We offer some excellent options, Kurt, for things we hope you'll spend money on".
As an example, every time I walk into the Y a guy named John says "Hi Kurt". He did this for roughly two weeks before I even knew his name. While I understand that he won't be calling me on my birthday, the fact that he even knows my name makes me feel more welcome there. It's the exact opposite of the comma-Kurt-comma treatment.
People are exceptionally good at "sensing" dishonesty. I think less is more when it comes to using names, but less is also better than none. Maybe just avoid using someone's name after a comma. :)
I think the key is not to go out of your way to fit a person's name into a sentence you already were planning to say, but instead do things like greeting them by name. As you point out, it's much more likel to be interpreted as being friendly rather than bei manipulative.