Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 240; Flight Crew Total 12136; Flight Crew Type 2015
Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Time Pressure; Communication Breakdown
ATC Issue All Types
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Airport; Procedure; Human Factors
We left our gate and were instructed to taxi and hold short of the runway. I repeated those instructions. This is an incredibly short taxi. The safety video alone is over 2 minutes. The pre-takeoff duties of the first officer; me; require uploading and confirming takeoff data; getting new runway data with the new weights; confirming all of this with Captain; loading new data; then running entire checklist as well as notifying crew to prepare for takeoff. That notification cannot take place until the safety video is finished. And that video is over 2 minutes long. While all of this was going on; ground informed us we should be on tower frequency. I switched to tower frequency and was immediately berated by tower controller for blocking traffic and not being ready for takeoff. There was an aircraft in front of us who wasn't ready for takeoff either. This aircraft had been told to taxi across the runway and hold short on east side.This type of communication should never take place from an ATC facility. There were all of 2 jets waiting for takeoff and neither jet was ready. The last thing a pilot needs at this critical point is a verbal berating from a tower controller about being ready for takeoff. I have enough experience to realize the immediate threat the tower controller just introduced to the extremely busy and critical point of preparation for takeoff. A new pilot may not. There is little more important than the proper running and preparation for takeoff. On a clear day; it is busy with such a short taxi. Add in any weather and the workload doubles. The requirements of the pilots is extremely great at this particular point. Pilots do not need the additional stress added from a tower controller who thinks it is his job to berate crews for not being ready for takeoff when he is ready to clear them for takeoff.
B737 First Officer reported they were given a short taxi route to the runway which they were not able to comply with do to pre-takeoff tasks.  The flight crew was told by the Tower Controller they were blocking traffic by not being ready for takeoff.