Narrative:

This report has to do with a situation I've repeatedly encountered at lvk; where I am based. As we know; the FAA has recently been emphasizing runway and taxi incursions. We also know that we humans are not good at repetitive; routine tasks; yet this is what we ask the ground controllers to do. I have a few suggestions following my description of the incident. My quotes below are close paraphrases of our interaction.I reported 'aircraft X; northwest ramp with papa; taxi' and received back the following from the ground controller: 'aircraft X; confirm you have papa.' now for some reason; probably most of the time; and I mean over and over again; the ground controller asks me to confirm the ATIS. Is it too much to ask the controller to listen in a professional manner the first time? I was issued taxi instruction 'aircraft X; taxi via bravo to runway 27R.' bravo is a short taxiway with a run-up area. The main taxi route; which runs parallel to the runway for 4;000 feet; is 'juliet;' which must be traversed before reaching the short stub bravo. I corrected the ground controller and he confirmed the correct taxi instructions. However; I certainly sensed he did not like being corrected in the least. An aside here; this tower is often used as a training tower and I wonder if the controller was inexperienced.after running up; I approached the runway hold line and held short; then contacted tower frequency for takeoff clearance. I then received: 'aircraft X;' hold short runway 25R. I responded 'aircraft X holding short' and did not repeat ' runway 25R.' [this] commenced a series of exchanges between the tower and myself about whether I needed to repeat 'runway 25R.' I certainly felt the controller was 'getting even.' there being no one else in the run-up area; I changed back to ground. The tower supervisor took over and admitted the taxi mistake; then insisted I repeat 'runway 25R;' which I did.at no time was there any runway incursion whatsoever. Instead; I encountered a sloppy and vindictive controller. Okay; now for my editorial. This sort of behavior on the part of the controller reduces respect and the smooth working relationship that pilot and controller must have; so I have a couple of suggestions. I suggest the aim be corrected to read; instead of saying; 'papa;' say 'ATIS papa.' I'll try this myself and see if the controllers will listen better. [Also]; my radios are of excellent clarity; [so] that is not the issue. Controllers are not perfect and they make mistakes; and do so rather regularly too. We pilots are not trying to 'hang' the controllers; we just want to get on with our flight. The controllers need to understand that they can make mistakes that; if corrected before any dangerous situation occurs as a result; will be forgiven and treated solely as a learning opportunity.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A pilot reported having to repeat their receipt of the current ATIS; receiving incomplete taxi instructions; and did not agree with Tower insisting they read back the runway assignment when told to hold short.

Narrative: This report has to do with a situation I've repeatedly encountered at LVK; where I am based. As we know; the FAA has recently been emphasizing runway and taxi incursions. We also know that we humans are not good at repetitive; routine tasks; yet this is what we ask the Ground Controllers to do. I have a few suggestions following my description of the incident. My quotes below are close paraphrases of our interaction.I reported 'Aircraft X; Northwest Ramp with Papa; taxi' and received back the following from the Ground Controller: 'Aircraft X; confirm you have Papa.' Now for some reason; probably most of the time; and I mean over and over again; the Ground Controller asks me to confirm the ATIS. Is it too much to ask the controller to listen in a professional manner the first time? I was issued taxi instruction 'Aircraft X; taxi via Bravo to RWY 27R.' Bravo is a short taxiway with a run-up area. The main taxi route; which runs parallel to the runway for 4;000 feet; is 'Juliet;' which must be traversed before reaching the short stub Bravo. I corrected the Ground Controller and he confirmed the correct taxi instructions. However; I certainly sensed he did not like being corrected in the least. An aside here; this tower is often used as a training tower and I wonder if the controller was inexperienced.After running up; I approached the runway hold line and held short; then contacted tower frequency for takeoff clearance. I then received: 'Aircraft X;' hold short RWY 25R. I responded 'Aircraft X holding short' and did not repeat ' RWY 25R.' [This] commenced a series of exchanges between the tower and myself about whether I needed to repeat 'RWY 25R.' I certainly felt the controller was 'getting even.' There being no one else in the run-up area; I changed back to ground. The Tower Supervisor took over and admitted the taxi mistake; then insisted I repeat 'RWY 25R;' which I did.At no time was there any runway incursion whatsoever. Instead; I encountered a sloppy and vindictive controller. Okay; now for my editorial. This sort of behavior on the part of the controller reduces respect and the smooth working relationship that pilot and controller must have; so I have a couple of suggestions. I suggest the AIM be corrected to read; instead of saying; 'Papa;' say 'ATIS Papa.' I'll try this myself and see if the controllers will listen better. [Also]; my radios are of excellent clarity; [so] that is not the issue. Controllers are not perfect and they make mistakes; and do so rather regularly too. We pilots are not trying to 'hang' the controllers; we just want to get on with our flight. The controllers need to understand that they can make mistakes that; if corrected before any dangerous situation occurs as a result; will be forgiven and treated solely as a learning opportunity.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.