diff --git a/docs/ops/production-stack-cutover.md b/docs/ops/production-stack-cutover.md
index ee0b0cc..75b0339 100644
--- a/docs/ops/production-stack-cutover.md
+++ b/docs/ops/production-stack-cutover.md
@@ -135,7 +135,33 @@ Verify after the stack is up, as part of step 7:
 sudo docker ps --filter name=backup --format '{{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}'
 ```
 
-Both must be **Up**. Both will also report *unhealthy* at first and that is correct — their healthchecks assert a recent backup exists, and nothing exists until the first scheduled run. `start_period` allows 25 hours for the database and 8 days for uploads. Read those healthchecks after the first run, not before.
+Both must be **Up**. Both will also report *starting* rather than healthy, and that is correct — their healthchecks assert a recent backup exists, and nothing exists until the first scheduled run. `start_period` allows 25 hours for the database and 8 days for uploads.
+
+**Do not wait for those runs to find out whether this works.** Up and scheduled is not the same as producing a restorable file, and the difference is one command each:
+
+```bash
+sudo docker exec redefined-designs-db-backup-syn /backup.sh
+ls -lht /volume1/configs/redefined-designs/backups/postgres/daily | head
+
+sudo docker exec redefined-designs-uploads-backup-syn backup
+ls -lht /volume1/configs/redefined-designs/backups/uploads | head
+```
+
+Check the sizes are plausible. A dump of an empty database succeeds and tells you nothing, so confirm the dump carries rows rather than only a schema:
+
+```bash
+zcat /volume1/configs/redefined-designs/backups/postgres/daily/redefined-latest.sql.gz \
+  | grep -E "^COPY public\.(items|customers|orders)"
+```
+
+Then confirm the healthchecks agree with where the files landed — a check whose `find` path disagrees with where the tool actually writes reports unhealthy forever, and is worth catching now rather than in a year:
+
+```bash
+sudo docker inspect --format '{{.Name}} {{.State.Health.Status}}' \
+  redefined-designs-db-backup-syn redefined-designs-uploads-backup-syn
+```
+
+Both reach `healthy` within their check intervals once a file exists — an hour for the database, six for uploads.
 
 ## 5. Remove the old stack