About Us

Pioneering Connection. Powered by People.

Hello, Inc. is more than an answering service—we’re a family legacy of communication excellence, proudly serving businesses for over 100 years. What began in 1923 as a small doctor’s exchange run from a bedside in Richmond, Virginia has grown into one of the largest message solutions providers in the region.

Our founder, Margaret Redmond Smith, was a visionary. While bedridden, she offered to answer calls for local doctors using a French-style telephone mounted on a scissor-arm near her bed. With no call forwarding and no voicemail in existence, Margaret pioneered one of the first telephone answering bureaus with “built-in” automation. She laid the foundation for what would become America’s oldest live answering service.

After Margaret’s passing in 1925, her son Edward R. Smith and his wife Eleanor continued to grow the business, expanding beyond medical clients in 1933 to serve commercial customers. By the 1950s, their son Edward L. Smith, Sr. joined the company, and in 1955, took over operations and moved Hello into a proper commercial office space in downtown Richmond.

Through the decades, Hello has remained ahead of the curve—relocating to our current West Broad Street location, expanding into Washington, D.C. in the 1970s, and adopting fully computerized systems in the 1980s, which allowed us to scale throughout the Golden Crescent of Virginia, including Tidewater, Charlottesville, and Northern Virginia.

In the 1990s, Hello rolled out interactive fax services and enhanced our call management capabilities. By 1997, we had earned the industry’s Award of Excellence for Operator Services, followed by the 24/7 Call Center Site Certification in 2004 for maintaining 99.99% annual uptime—recognition that reflects our unwavering commitment to reliability.

Today, Hello continues Margaret Smith’s legacy with a blend of cutting-edge technology and warm, personalized service. Our services now include:

• 24/7 Live Operator Answering
• Inbound Call Handling
• Secure Voicemail and Message Delivery
• Text Alerts
• Appointment Scheduling
• Industry-Specific Call Support
• Emergency Dispatch and On-Call Management
• HIPAA-Compliant Messaging

We proudly serve clients across Richmond, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Fredericksburg, Newport News/Williamsburg, and Northern Virginia—but with today’s technology, Hello supports businesses nationwide.

Whether you’re a solo practitioner, a growing startup, or an established enterprise, we’re here 24/7 to ensure your calls are answered with care, accuracy, and professionalism. With Hello, you’re not just getting an answering service—you’re joining a legacy of reliability, compassion, and excellence.