Companies have an obligation to answer the questions and or the comments made by customers. There are different ways companies could go about this. They could answer back in a proactive or defensive way. Many of us have probably experienced both. So, whats the difference?
Defensive Companies
A defensive company may look like many different things but they all have one thing in common: poor customer service. Defensive companies tend to not have good answers or sometimes not even the right answers to questions or comments. If they do provide an answer, usually it may be defensive rather than helpful. Rather than helping you, they tend to make excuses and sometimes even blame you for any complaints you may have. This obviously is poor customer service.
Proactive Companies
Proactive companies are the opposite of defensive companies: they have good customer service in comparison to a defensive company. Rather than blame the customer or give bland answers, they will try their best to help the customer or answer their feedback more naturally. An example of this I have found was on Wegman’s instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGxGyXVl0ol/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
In the comment section, a customer commented that they had a complaint about a product they purchased. Rather than blaming the customer and defending themselves, they offered to help the customer to resolve the issue. This is a good example of not only good customer service but a proactive company. Rather than being defensive, this helps the company have a good image of being proactive and helps the customer in the process.