Customer Service Rep Changed This Woman's Perspective on Love and Life

Christina Grady had just broken off her engagement and just needed support.

ByABC News
September 16, 2016, 12:09 PM
Christina Grady received flowers from a Capital One representative after her card was shut down for buying furniture after moving out of her ex-fiancee's apartment.
Christina Grady received flowers from a Capital One representative after her card was shut down for buying furniture after moving out of her ex-fiancee's apartment.
Courtesy Christina Grady

— -- One Pittsburgh woman was having a tough couple weeks, but a customer service rep helped put a smile on her face.

After breaking off her engagement and moving out of the apartment she shared with her ex-fiancé six weeks ago, Christina Grady was trying to buy furniture for her new place across town.

First, she bought a couch that was too big for her place and wouldn't fit through the door. So she returned it for another one, but faced yet another problem: Her Capital One credit card got declined.

"I called customer service and explained that I have moved and I'm buying all of these large purchases because I just moved and I'm overwhelmed with my breakup and I haven't had the chance to change my address," Grady told ABC News.

Grady said then something cool happened: Her customer service representative, only introduced to her as "Tonya KYY905," then told her, "'I'm going to give you 4,500 miles,' which only works out to $45."

"It's not like she was sending me to Paris," Grady continued, "but it was so nice of her! I hung up with her and I ordered the couch, which has yet to be delivered."

A short time later, Grady got a text from her ex saying that someone had sent flowers to their old home.

"And I was like, 'What? Who could that be? Is it a creeper? Is it 'Mr. Right?'" Grady quipped, but explained she still drove over to her old apartment to pick up her flowers.

The woman admitted she was nervous opening the card, but was pleasantly surprised to learn the flowers were from "Tonya KYY905."

PHOTO: Christina Grady received flowers from a Capital One representative after her card was shut down for buying furniture after moving out of her ex-fiancee's apartment.
Christina Grady received flowers from a Capital One representative after her card was shut down for buying furniture after moving out of her ex-fiancee's apartment.

"I started crying!" Grady admitted. "I feel like society teaches women to always be on the lookout for 'Mr. Right' even after you’ve gone through this terrible breakup."

The woman said when she initially heard about the flowers, she pondered: "What if it’s [my ex]? What if it’s this person that’s going to make me feel loved? It’s almost like the flowers were from womanhood, [telling me] you don’t need a man to feel loved."

Grady said now her friends have a saying that whenever one of them needs help, or support, or a shoulder to cry on: "See a Tonya. Be a Tonya if you see a woman who needs a little bit of help. And allow other women to help you out as well."

Grady said she called "Tonya KYY905" back to thank her, but she wants to go one step further.

"I want to hand her flowers. And we wouldn't need to say anything. She would just know," Grady added.

In a statement to ABC News, Capital One said: "We encourage our agents to look for and act on opportunities to practice random acts of kindness for our customers. The program has been in place for several years and enables our agents to follow up on customer conversations in unexpected, personalized and creative ways."