No, strangely enough, we don't give people free stuff.

[South Texan]

Merriweather hit it on the proverbial nose. I once worked at a hotel restaurant along a major highway. It advertised that tour bus drivers and guides ate free just to lure them in with their hungry, tired, impatient tourists who did not tip.

BuryMe's driver is stupid, however, to expect a store to do this when he did not provide the tourists for the revenue.

[PepperElf]

only free coffee i've seen being given out was to uniformed police officers. and it was just coffee. if they wanted something more they paid for it.

[Legal Eagle]

It is quite common for free food or drinks to be given to COACH drivers if they specifically bring a coach load of passengers to a paticular stop (usually smaller companies, where the drivers have control over where they stop) but i've never heard of this for a bus driver.

[Beckpatton]

I can understand a restaurant owner giving free coffee to a tour bus driver who chooses to bring a busload of hungry people in to eat - wouldn't be a bad business move, really, if the driver gets to decide where to stop, and he'll then choose your place rather than the place down the street to bring a bus load of hungry tourists to.

So the whole thing might make some sense - if he'd asked for the free coffee at Wendys! But why on earth would he expect free coffee from your donut shop for
bringing a bunch of business into Wendy's??

This! Exactly this!!!! ^^

[Jetfire]

It is quite common for free food or drinks to be given to COACH drivers if they specifically bring a coach load of passengers to a paticular stop (usually smaller companies, where the drivers have control over where they stop) but i've never heard of this for a bus driver.

Probably just a difference in terminology. Normal bus drivers (as in City Bus drivers or School bus drivers, or the Intercity bus routes like Greyhound) wouldn't be bringing a bus load into a restaurant normally.

Chartered drivers, driving school groups around, or special tour trips (what you refer to as Coach drivers) on the other hand would be bringing people into those types of restaurants. The school group drivers would often be hired from a company or even may even be a hired school bus + driver for the trip, so they would have a lot of flexibility in what restaurant they stop at.

As others have mentioned, those chartered drivers may often get a discount on their own meals at restaurants; but I suspect in most cases it has to be a deal made ahead of time, or by signage in the restaurant. Or if he asks the manager politely before ordering. To expect to be comped just because he brought in a bunch of people is a bit much.

[NateTheChops]

That reminds me of a conversation I overheard at 7/11. A guy came out and said, "Uh, yeah, I heard today was a free coffee day and that places were giving away free coffee."

Of course, the owner tried to figure out where such places were. Maybe a McDonalds promotion? Maybe it was part of an event in town? No, the guy was just very vagye and he was wondering if 7/11 was participating in this wonderful event of free coffee.

Nine times out of ten this guy, the bus driver, has never recieved free coffee and he was just making a lazy attempt at scamming you out of coffee.