What Would You Do: My Co-Worker Broke My Blow Dryer

My Co-Worker Borrowed My Blow Dryer Without Asking & Broke It

We have all been there. A stylist at your salon decides they have free reign over your styling tools when you’re not there, only for you to come back to something missing from your station or worse…BROKEN. One stylist who just experienced this has no idea what she should do about the tricky predicament, so we reached out to the BTC community for advice. Here’s what they had to say!

“A co-worker borrowed my blow dryer without asking and her client knocked it over and broke it. She offered me her old blow dryer, but I don’t really want hers…Mine was a lot nicer. What should I do?”

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She Needs To Replace Your Blow Dryer. Point Blank Period.

“Tell her how you feel! You’re perfectly justified in asking her to replace the one she broke with something of the same quality.” – @karissa.schow

“Ask her to replace it. If she refuses, then ask her for the money. Otherwise, talk to the shop manager about how they would like this to be handled.” – @junovalencia

“Screw that. I’d make her pay for a new one for sure, especially since she didn’t even get your permission to use it.” – @alexandra.squared

“Have her reimburse you.” – @katie1648

“She can buy you a new one of the SAME blow dryer you had.” – @irunwithshears12

“You break it, you buy it! It’s common decency! You shouldn’t even have to ask, but since she’s making you, tell her how you feel and that she needs to replace it.” – @vanessaevanshair

“Let them know you accept Venmo.” – @bay_royalty

“Well first of all, what stylist doesn’t have a blow dryer? Second, she needs to replace the exact same one. If for some reason she can’t get it, she needs to give you the same amount you paid for it so you can pick out what you want. The end.” – @frani_larouge

“She should pay to replace it. If you do not want to replace other people’s tools…USE YOUR OWN. Period.” – @colourful.chrissy

“Don’t use my stuff without asking. I accept cash and the interest starts accruing once our next payday hits LOL.” – @shawntippie

“Common courtesy would be for her to replace it or give you the money to replace it. It’s not your fault HER client knocked it over and it never would have happened if she didn’t borrow it without asking.” – @skkylar_

“UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 10000000 percent she should replace it. Have a face-to-face conversation and ask her if the tables were turned what would she expect? You get more bees with honey. Be nice, but be firm. Hope this helps! XO.” – @iamginabianca

“I think also the client should help pay for it as well as the co-worker.” – @nelliesshearcreations

“The fact that she didn’t IMMEDIATELY say, ‘I’ll replace it with the exact one. I’m SO SORRY,’ makes me go, ‘Hmmmmm.’ Any human with decency would and should replace the dryer, along with a $25 Starbucks gift card and a huge apology!” – Margie Wheeler Hoag

“She needs to buy you one. 😊 It’s that simple. I used to have a boss who would tell people if they asked to borrow his clippers, ‘Sure. Put a $100 bill right here, and you get it back when I get my clippers back.’ LOL.” – Pat Wade

Talk To Your Boss

“Let the supervisor handle it. The client who knocked it down broke it, so save the drama and let a third party help. Ninety-nine percent of stylists have used a hair tool, water bottle, comb, iron, etc. without asking…My company replaced my dryer for me when a guest dropped it. I wouldn’t have known they’d do that if I didn’t mention it to my boss before I freaked out.” – @emichellez

“This happened to me, also. I had a $150 dryer, and one day when I was off work one of the other ladies used mine and broke it. She wanted to go to Big Lots and buy my replacement. I was so upset, but it all worked out. The owner called the place I bought it from and they replaced it for free. We had a salon meeting about not getting in other people’s things without asking, and when you do ask you are responsible if broken!”  – @punk_9659

I’ve Been That Stylist

“A friend of mine once left her mini flat iron with me, so I took the liberty of using it once to flat iron some blue direct dye into a client’s hair. I accidentally got dye on her mini flat iron. I asked her what she wanted me to do, and she said to get her a new one because she didn’t want an ugly flat iron. So I bought her not only a new flat iron, but an even better one. We all know the saying, ‘If you use something, always put it back better than you found it!'” – @krystal_thehairstylist

“I’ve accidentally broken a co-worker’s clippers by knocking them on the floor. I gave them the money to get new ones. It’s not hard to do what’s morally right. We all know our tools are expensive and need to be handled with care. Accidents happen and if you break something, own up to your mishap.” – @moniqueshairexperience

“When I accidentally broke my co-worker’s clipper blade, I bought her a new one and let her borrow mine until the replacement came in. What’s right is right.” – @hairbysarahz

“I ACTUALLY DID THIS!! I broke my co-worker’s blow dryer. I was devastated, but I put it back and didn’t say ANYTHING. The next day he noticed, looked confused, then asked me, ‘Did you borrow my dryer and break it?’ I felt so guilty, I said, ‘Yes!!! I’m sorry.’ He simply said, ‘I’m sad that you’re my friend and didn’t tell me. Not that you broke it.’ I felt horrible. I bought him a new one—the exact same one. But, it was stupid not to tell him.” – @cmack3rd

It Happened To Me, Too

“I had this happen to me, but with products. I had brand new hair products, one was barely used and another had never been opened. My co-worker used both of these products and left them practically empty. My other co-workers were there, and asked her why she was grabbing them and if she had asked me to use them. She lied about it and said that I gave her permission. She tried to replace what she claims she only ‘used’ which was half of both. Luckily everyone had my back when I told her no and that she needed to buy me new products, which she did at the end.” – @cosmobelle

“I had that happen to me and the stylist was soooo greedy. She made up so many excuses. She was a thief too! Good luck on that one!” – @smithstyle10

“This would drive me insane. I’ve always made it very clear to my co-workers, do not go in my drawer or use my blow dryer when I am not there or you haven’t asked. I had a co-worker ‘borrow’ a heat mat I had without me knowing. My boss told her to just, ‘Take it and put it back before Wednesday. She won’t even know it was gone.’ Guess what? Wednesday came and I had no heat mat. So I asked around and SHE LOST IT. I explained that I was very disappointed and luckily she bought me another one, plus one of her own.” – @thatgirlkimc

“I had a co-worker use (and break) my edgers without permission and they refused to replace them. I began packing my tools at the end of each day. That habit stuck with me.” – @tisdalelorraine

Lesson Learned, Now Lock It Up

“What’s wrong with people? This is exactly why I lock up my station. DON’T TOUCH MY STUFF!!!!” – @ejk_aguilar

“When I used to work at a salon, I bought those mini locks and would add the lock to one of the prongs for the plugs and did the same with all of my scissors lol.” – @shantelshairgallery

“I’ve had another stylist break my clippers, which I was able to fix but they weren’t the same after that. So I bought lock boxes to put over the plugs of my dryer and clippers and what not. It was the best thing I ever did!”  – @heyimstacey27

If All Else Fails, Buy Yourself A New Dryer

“I know that I always purchase a warranty on my tools, and I keep the warranties in my filing cabinet. I was scrolling through the comments and saw a good idea. So my advice would be to keep the peace at work and go replace your hair dryer. Look into your warranty options and find the tiny locks that can fit into the holes on your dryer prongs. Then go talk to the salon owner and ask them to call a monthly meeting to go over the salon’s policies. You’ll walk away from the situation feeling really pleased with yourself for handling the situation with tact and grace.” – @kayakissyface

“This happened to me too, but I certainly didn’t make the stylist replace it. It was an accident and we are a team!!!! Do you not have insurance to cover the breakage? A bad atmosphere is not worth a dryer!” – Vicky Langham