Improve error messages in controllers

**Feature request**
It would be great to have retry for utils.

**Use case**
Many users need this functionality for production deployments.

**Implementation idea**
Add a new config option `enable_retry` with default `false`.

Start by locating the utility and controller entry points related to the request and read how configuration options are currently defined. Clarify the retry conditions and expected behavior before changing anything. Done should include an `enable_retry` option defaulting to `false`, with tests covering the configured behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.