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“The walls of Printz’ office are rim-tight with autographed photos from celebrities: Candice and Louis Malle, for example, sitting in a carriage in a French field after their marriage. The photo is inscribed: ‘To all our Belles with love from Candice and Louis.’”
(Larkin, Kathy. “The woman who wakes up Robert Redford.” Manhattan Daily News. Wednesday, August 11, 1982)
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“Of all the switchboard operators Mrs. Printz trained, few were better than Miss Holliday herself, who reported for instruction after she was cast in ‘Bells Are Ringing.’ Miss Holliday became so proficient, People magazine reported in 1979, that Mrs. Printz offered her a job.”
(Fox, Margalit. “Mary Printz, an Ear for the Famous, Dies at 82.” New York Times, March 2, 2009)
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 The Belles may well be the most famous answering service in the United States, even though until four years ago its own number was unlisted. It was founded in 1956 by a smashing brunette named Mary Printz, whose nicknames range from ‘Ma Belle’ to ‘The Witch of the East.’ Mary had been in business for just a short time when two of her clients— songwriters Adolph Green and Jule Styne—told her they were going to write a musical about an answering service and base its main character on her. The result was Bells Are Ringing and its opening song.…
(Eisenberg, Lawrence B. “Confessions of an Answering Service.” Cosmopolitan, February 1977)
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Since 1956, The Belles has taken messages for big names in show business, millionaires, city professionals, political figures, and even opera divas and rock bands. During those bustling days, these celeb clients would rely on the efficiency of their personally designated secretaries at Belles to take their messages accurately. Once or twice a day, they would call the unlisted number 212 Plaza 8 -1264, PL 8, to check their messages.
Above: The walls of our offices are adorned with personalized messages from our thankful celebrity clients.
Right: Old Belles’ switchboard. |
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Around 1960, Belles’ clients were on account using the traditional hard-wire. Originally, Belles used the Intercept 557 Switchboard manufactured by Western Electric. Just in time, Belles upgraded to six City Wide Switchboards, manufactured in Long Island. Since then, these boards have been operated by about two dozen telephone girls, better known as “secretaries” or “Belles.” In those days, Belles did not advertise and new clients were accepted only by referral.
Traditionally, new clients sign up with Belles and they later send their autographed portrait, “With Love to Our Belles.”
Not only did Belles take messages for the uber-rich, but they also offered a specialized wake-up call and event reminder service. In fact, The Belles Wake-Up Call Service ™ was inspired by the August 11, 1982 Manhattan article, “The Woman who wakes up Robert Redford.”
Above: Old Belles’ advertisement.
Today, The Belles Celebrity Answering Service™ continues to hold the line on personalized service using sophisticated telephony to address the changing needs of our clients. It has introduced The Belles Legacy Wake-Up Call Service™ to offer wake-up and event reminder calls and The Belles Legacy R.S.V.P Service™ to help you manage your special events (weddings, anniversaries, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, birthdays, registrations).
Belles’ goal is to offer developing technologies to a wider range of clients who require more responsive services. The Belles Contact Center™ compliments those needs with specialized inbound, outbound, and innovative customer and sales support.
Whatever the service, Belles will continue to extend the red carpet in human touch needed of every personal and business relationship.
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