And one that really gets my goat.... when an A/C on departure calls me up and I tell it to 'squawk ident'.... I want a verbal acknowledgment (it is an SSR operating instruction) as well as implemention of the ident - that way I know for certain that 2 way comms have been established, and it's just plain politeness.
And on a similar vein, by the book, it's no use saying to me "London Control ABC123 climbing blah, passing blah, squawking ident"... The ident is supposed to be in response to my request, not your whim - and we ATCOs are fairly (very) simple... we're programmed to say 'quawk ident' on first contact - it's very hard to stop yourself from saying it, and you begin to query whehter the pilot said it or whether you are just imagining it.
And, yes, I should get out more.....