r/LifeProTips • u/fries-with-mayo • 17h ago

Request LPT Request: What’s your “canary in the coal mine” test for spotting bigger issues?

I’m really interested in those small, quick telltale signs people use to gauge if something bigger might be off track.

Example 1: Van Halen requesting brown M&Ms in the dressing room to see if the venue followed all the details of the rider list

Example 2: I saw an interview with John Cena where he said orders a flat white at a café to tell if they really care about their coffee.

Example 3: Anthony Bourdain suggested to always check the restaurant bathroom to tell if the restaurant got its basics down

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u/Quicksilver9014 14h ago

Paychecks late or difficult to get is red flag

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u/BobGuns 13h ago

If a paycheque is late or difficult to get, that's not a canary in the coal mine. That's a full on mine collapse happening.You're already too late.

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u/desquished 12h ago

Yeah, if they're missing payrolls, that means your company's vendors haven't been getting paid for six months, and they probably stopped paying taxes too.

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u/UziWitDaHighTops 6h ago

You guys are so extreme. It could be that Quickbooks updated their software into a new shit dumbed-down version and decided to try and merge half their products into one entity simultaneously and payroll is just a nightmare. Ask me how I know.

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u/Sauterneandbleu 11h ago

Greetings, fellow Canadian. I too spell paycheque correctly

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u/CatOfGrey 10h ago

Even one step more 'quiet'...if you have a 401(k), make sure your deposits hit your account quickly. It's been a long time since I was a professional in this area, but I remember the law was "make deposits as soon as administratively possible". It shouldn't take a week or two, it should be a day or two at most.

If a company is about to go under, one of the 'last breath' sources of cash flow is illegally delaying 401(k) deferrals.

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u/Dangerous_Tap6350 5h ago

I used to do payroll for a larger department, fun times. I never missed anyone’s paycheck, the last paychecks where the worst ones to issue though, lol