Service / Repair Terms and Conditions

These Service / Repair Terms and Conditions (“Repair Terms”) govern all repair, repad, overhaul, restoration, cleaning, adjustment, and related services performed by Kowal and Son LLC (“Kowal and Son,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). A completed Customer Intake Form is required before technical inspection, diagnostic work, repair, or restoration begins. Leaving or shipping an instrument, arranging a visit, or making a payment does not replace the intake form or authorize repair work. We begin repair work only after the customer approves the proposed scope and maximum charge in writing.

Scope of Services
Kowal and Son provides woodwind repair, clarinet repair and restoration, repadding, overhauls, cleaning, recorking, polishing, regulation, and related services as described on our website, service pages, intake forms, and approved estimates. The specific work to be performed will be documented through the customer intake process, estimate approval, written communications, and/or internal inspection notes.

Final checks are appropriate to the approved scope of work. An isolated repair may receive a focused fit, function, or leak check. A full-instrument service includes a leak check and play-test. Testing an instrument does not mean that unrelated defects have been repaired or that a particular musical outcome is guaranteed.
Service Ladder and Repair Categories
Our listed services include isolated pad and tenon-cork work, a Basic play-condition refresh, and Standard, Deluxe, and Premium overhauls. Other sectional or complex repairs are estimated individually after inspection. Published service descriptions are intended to explain typical service scope, but actual work required may vary based on the instrument’s condition upon inspection and disassembly. This means a customer request for a simple repair may be reclassified if the instrument’s actual condition requires a broader service.
Independent Keys vs. Linked Key Systems
Some clarinet keys operate independently and can be serviced as isolated repairs. Mechanically linked systems may require additional access and local regulation. When inspection confirms that replacing one linked-key pad and regulating the affected linkage will provide a reliable result, we may offer our Linked-Key Pad Replacement and Local Regulation service. Crow’s-foot or other complex linked-key issues may require separately estimated regulation, a sectional repair, a full repad, or an overhaul. We will explain the recommended scope and obtain your written approval of the maximum charge before work begins.
Estimates, Authorization, and Additional Work
Published service prices describe work on a standard B♭ clarinet in typical condition. After receiving a completed intake form and inspecting the instrument, we will explain the recommended work and provide an estimate. Repair work begins only after the customer approves the proposed scope and maximum charge in writing, including by email or through our intake and approval process. We will not perform additional work, change the approved scope, or exceed the approved amount without further written approval. If we discover a condition that changes the recommended work or price, we will pause and provide a revised estimate, which the customer may approve or decline.
Pricing, Inspection, and Diagnostic Work
Repair pricing is based on the current published service structure, bench time, parts/materials, and actual instrument condition. An initial, non-invasive inspection is free after we receive a completed Customer Intake Form. If determining the repair scope requires extensive disassembly or diagnostic bench work, we will explain the proposed work and its maximum charge and obtain your written approval before beginning that diagnostic work. Approval of diagnostic work does not authorize subsequent repairs. If a customer declines additional work after authorized work has begun, the customer is responsible only for work already performed and materials installed or specially ordered, up to the amount previously approved.
Ownership and Authority
By submitting an instrument for service, you represent that you are the lawful owner or fully authorized by the owner to approve work, incur charges, and agree to these Repair Terms. You agree to indemnify and hold Kowal and Son harmless from third‑party claims arising out of ownership disputes or lack of authority to authorize repairs.
Instrument Condition and Hidden Issues
A visible condition check may be performed at intake, but many problems—including hidden cracks, prior improper repairs, internal wear, warped keywork, unstable pads, or concealed structural weaknesses—may not be discoverable until disassembly or bench work begins. Kowal and Son is not responsible for pre‑existing defects, prior repair quality, age‑related deterioration, or hidden conditions that existed before the instrument was received, whether or not all such conditions were visible or documented at intake.
Inherent Risks of Repair and Restoration
Repair and restoration work, especially on older, fragile, heavily worn, cracked, or previously modified instruments, carries inherent risks. These can include finish changes, plating loss, tarnish changes, minor scratching, crack movement, discovery of uneconomical repair conditions, or differences in tone, feel, or response after repair. By authorizing repair, the customer acknowledges and accepts these inherent risks.
No Guarantee of Musical or Cosmetic Outcome
Kowal and Son uses professional skill and accepted repair methods but does not guarantee a particular tone, response, playing feel, resale value, audition result, or “like new” cosmetic appearance. Older or heavily worn instruments may retain permanent limitations even after careful repair or overhaul.
Workmanship Warranty
Kowal and Son provides a limited workmanship warranty covering defects in labor and materials supplied by us, subject to the following general categories:

Our workmanship warranty lasts 90 days from the date the instrument is returned to the original customer. It covers defects in repair labor and materials supplied by Kowal and Son LLC for the work identified on the service invoice. If you believe covered work has failed, contact us and return the instrument for inspection. We will correct a covered issue at no additional charge. The exclusions stated below continue to apply.

Used instruments refurbished and sold by us: coverage applies only to workmanship directly related to our refurbishment work.

Warranty coverage applies only under normal use and only to the original customer. Warranty service requires return of the instrument to Kowal and Son for inspection and service. Kowal and Son does not reimburse third‑party repair costs unless expressly approved in writing in advance.

Warranty Exclusions
The workmanship warranty does not cover normal wear, pad settling, cork compression, environmental damage, humidity or heat exposure, shipping damage, accidental damage, drops, unauthorized third‑party work, abuse, misuse, pre‑existing disclosed problems, or problems caused by changes made after pickup. It also does not cover cosmetic outcomes, personal preference about response or feel, or deterioration caused by storage or handling after the instrument leaves our possession.
Shipping and Transit
Customers shipping instruments to Kowal and Son for repair are responsible for secure packing, carrier selection, tracking, and insurance. Responsibility for loss or transit damage remains with the customer until we receive and check in the instrument. When Kowal and Son arranges return shipping after repair, we are responsible for packing the instrument with reasonable care and for resolving loss or transit damage occurring before delivery to the customer-provided address. The shipping method and charges will be confirmed before shipment. Customers should retain packaging and report observed shipping damage to us as soon as possible, preferably within 48 hours of delivery.
Storage, Pickup, and Abandoned Instruments
Customers must pick up the instrument or arrange return shipping within the stated period after completion notice. Storage fees may be charged for unclaimed instruments after the posted grace period. If an instrument remains unclaimed after completion notice and reasonable attempts to contact the customer, Kowal and Son may treat the instrument as abandoned property and may exercise available rights under applicable Florida law, including an artisan’s lien, to recover unpaid repair charges, storage charges, and reasonable related costs.
Right to Refuse or Discontinue Service
Kowal and Son reserves the right to refuse, limit, or discontinue repair work where, in its professional judgment, the instrument cannot be safely repaired, contamination or biohazard conditions make handling unsafe, the repair is economically unreasonable compared with instrument value, required authorization is not provided, or the customer’s requested scope of work would create an unreliable or misleading result. If we refuse or discontinue work, you remain responsible only for diagnostic work you approved in advance, authorized work already performed, materials installed or specially ordered under your approval, and applicable shipping charges. An initial, non-invasive inspection is free after we receive a completed Customer Intake Form.
Cleanliness, Biohazards, and Additional Cleaning Charges
If an instrument arrives with mold, bodily fluids, infestation, severe dirt, or other contamination, Kowal and Son may require deep cleaning, apply additional charges, or refuse service if the condition is unsafe to handle.
Documentation, Photos, and Records
Kowal and Son may photograph or document instruments before, during, and after service for internal records, insurance support, quality control, training, and process documentation. Non‑identifying photographs may also be used for educational or promotional purposes unless otherwise prohibited by law or separately agreed in writing.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by Florida law, Kowal and Son’s total liability for any claim arising from repair, restoration, storage, or related services is limited to the lesser of:

the amount actually paid for the specific service at issue, or

the documented fair market value of the instrument immediately before the repair, if such value is documented.

Kowal and Son will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including loss of use, lost performance opportunities, lost income, or loss of expected future value. Nothing in these Repair Terms is intended to waive liability where waiver is not permitted by applicable law, such as for gross negligence or willful misconduct to the extent non‑waivable under Florida law.

Governing Law and Venue
These Repair Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida. Any dispute arising out of or relating to repair or restoration services must be brought in the courts located in or serving Alachua County, Florida, unless applicable law requires otherwise.
Relationship to Website Terms
These Repair Terms apply specifically to instrument service work. They supplement, and do not replace, the Website Terms & Conditions that govern website use, online browsing, e‑commerce, and general website transactions.