[pessimizer]

> 1. automate

Won't work. Customers are generally not going to figure out your UI, and even when they do a special case is going to come up once every five or so checkouts that requires employee intervention.

> 2. become a charity

This is a better idea. They should include e.g. 50¢ in the price of every Big Mac that will be donated to the workers who cooked and served it.

[astrange]

McDonald’s doesn’t employ the burger makers. They work for franchisees, who don’t necessarily have “executives and shareholders”.

[johnnylambada]

I like your answer to #2, but that’s not a charity, that’s aligned incentives.