Debug an agent trace: a refund agent stuck in a loop

An e-commerce company's customer-service agent handles refund requests. It has three tools:

• lookup_order(order_id: string): order IDs look like 4471-PQ
• search_orders(customer_id: string, status?: string): customer IDs look like C-90812
• create_refund(order_id: string, reason: string, amount_inr: number)

The agent has a 14-step limit. This conversation ended with an escalation to a human and a 1-star rating.

[1]  user        My order 4471-PQ arrived damaged, the glass jar was broken.
                 I want a refund. Customer ID C-90812.

[2]  tool_call   lookup_order(order_id="C-90812")
     result      {"error": "ORDER_NOT_FOUND"}

[3]  thought     The order may not have synced yet. I should retry.

[4]  tool_call   lookup_order(order_id="C-90812")
     result      {"error": "ORDER_NOT_FOUND"}

[5]  tool_call   search_orders(customer_id="C-90812", status="delivered")
     result      [{"order_id": "4471-PQ", "item": "Borosilicate storage jar set",
                   "amount_inr": 1299, "delivered": "2026-11-06"},
                  {"order_id": "4398-PQ", "item": "Steel lunch box",
                   "amount_inr": 649, "delivered": "2026-10-21"}]

[6]  thought     Let me confirm the order details before refunding.

[7]  tool_call   lookup_order(order_id="C-90812")
     result      {"error": "ORDER_NOT_FOUND"}

     ... steps 8-13 repeat lookup_order(order_id="C-90812") ...

[14] assistant   I'm sorry, I couldn't find your order. I've escalated this
                 to our support team, who will contact you within 48 hours.