Stewart Golf boosts customer support ops with AI powered customer experience platform Crescendo
Stewart Golf, a manufacturer of follow golf trolleys, says that it has transformed its customer support operation with AI powered customer experience platform Crescendo. The partnership has reduced first response times from up to 72 hours to just one minute, while simultaneously achieving 100% customer satisfaction for four consecutive weeks.
Founded more than 20 years ago, Stewart Golf serves customers across the UK and US through operations in Britain and Houston, Texas, selling golf trolleys, accessories and support services to golfers worldwide. As the company expanded internationally, customer support became increasingly challenging.
Every support ticket was still managed through a UK-based team operating during British working hours. Weekend coverage was limited, meaning a golfer in Florida experiencing an issue during a round could wait days for an answer that was already documented in the company’s knowledge base. During peak periods, including Black Friday, bank holidays and the start of the golf season, support backlogs could grow into the thousands.
To address the challenge, Stewart Golf deployed Crescendo’s AI platform across chat and email channels, publicly branding the AI assistant as “Stewie”. The solution combines AI powered automation with human expertise, enabling weekday support from Stewart Golf’s internal team and weekend coverage from Crescendo’s trained customer service agents.
Within a month of launch, Stewie was resolving 75% of customer enquiries globally across chat and email. Customers can now receive answers to questions about products, deliveries, warranties and troubleshooting within minutes, while more complex cases are automatically escalated to a human agent.
Nathan Hooper, Head of Customer Experience at Stewart Golf, comments: “Working with Crescendo has changed what we thought was possible in customer experience. The platform didn't just solve our coverage gaps, it gave us a level of consistency and quality we'd never been able to achieve before. Four consecutive weeks of 100% customer satisfaction isn't something I ever expected to see, and that's a direct result of what Crescendo has built. Stewie has become a genuine extension of our brand."
Before implementing Crescendo, Hooper estimated Stewart Golf would have needed to increase its customer experience headcount by 50% to maintain service levels during peak periods while providing weekend coverage. The company initially explored building automated workflows within Zendesk and evaluated native AI capabilities, but found existing solutions lacked the conversational experience customers expected. Crescendo demonstrated a working AI assistant using Stewart Golf’s existing Zendesk knowledge base within days, providing accurate, on-brand responses while escalating more complex enquiries to human agents when required.
Matt Price, CEO at Crescendo, says: “Most AI companies think about AI in customer support as a cost problem to solve. Stewart Golf saw it as an experience to build. That mindset is exactly why their results speak for themselves - from multi-day response times to five-star reviews. What comes next is even more exciting, with that same intelligence moving seamlessly from answering questions today to guiding purchases tomorrow. The best sales tool they’d have is just great service.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
