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He said that that he, "provoke them in a way that they would try to scare," and then said the result was that he "scared them." It doesn't take too much deciphering to see it wasn't a complement or a casual exchange like you describe. Scareactors will accept complements, gladly. But stare-offs (which he later described it as) legitimately pull a scareactor's attention, especially when they don't initiate it. While they are many times used as a distraction for another scare, when a guest starts it it's a lose-lose. If the scareactor breaks first, then the guest assumes they "won" (or scared the actor). But because the actor didn't start it, there's no scare actually set to distract for. If I were the scareactor, I would be mumbling "Asshole" under my mask if this happened to me. Scaring is a job that people do because they love it. That's the only reason why they scare. They don't get paid much and the amount of abuse the typical scareactor takes on a given night damn sure isn't worth what they do get paid. Until you do it, don't assume you have any idea what the job is like. There is so much more to it than wearing a mask and yelling, "Boo." You wouldn't tell a mechanic they're doing it wrong (unless you're a mechanic also), so don't do the same to a scareactor. Doing so makes you, yes, obnoxious.

Personally, any action that could even be perceived as "provoking" a scareactor is a bit obnoxious. There are the obvious things, like screaming in a scareactor's face or trying to scare them. But from my perspective, those acts were JUST as obnoxious as the people who would walk through saying, "Why doesn't somebody scare me," or standing in front of me waiting for me to jump at them. There are so many things that happen to scareactors on a nightly basis, and opening night can be a massive system shock to rookies. While it's possible this scareactor was tired or just didn't care, it's just as likely they were punched the set prior and the last thing they want to do is scare someone. "Provoking" them in any way, doesn't really help them as people. While I completely understand the guests' desire for high energy, all the time, that's easier said than done. Let the scareactors be scareactors and enjoy what you can of the event. If the energy is really that bad, find a coordinator and say something. But remember that the coordinators and stage managers are constantly in the scarezone/going through houses. So they see exactly what is going on.

Don't be that guy. No one likes that guy. Seriously.