diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index cf2f969..ae0c271 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ var version string = "dev"
 //go:embed skills/dci-cli
 var skillFS embed.FS
 
+// customerContextFlagValue holds the --customer-context / -D flag value when
+// set, used to suppress the Doer hint even when no persistent context file exists.
+var customerContextFlagValue string
+
 func dciConfigDir() string {
 	if dir, err := os.UserConfigDir(); err == nil && dir != "" {
 		cfgDir := filepath.Join(dir, "dci")
@@ -129,6 +133,9 @@ func main() {
 }
 
 func run() (exitCode int) {
+	// Reset per-invocation state so repeated calls (e.g. in tests) start clean.
+	customerContextFlagValue = ""
+
 	defer func() {
 		if r := recover(); r != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "dci encountered an internal error: %v\n", r)
@@ -193,11 +200,11 @@ func run() (exitCode int) {
 
 	if err := cli.Run(); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%v\n", err)
-		maybeHintDoerContext(1, configDir)
+		maybeHintDoerContext(1, cli.GetLastStatus(), configDir)
 		return 1
 	}
 	code := cli.GetExitCode()
-	maybeHintDoerContext(code, configDir)
+	maybeHintDoerContext(code, cli.GetLastStatus(), configDir)
 	return code
 }
 
@@ -795,15 +802,15 @@ func authSource() string {
 
 // maybeHintDoerContext prints a targeted hint when a @doit.com user hits a 403
 // without a customer context set — covering both interactive and CI/CD usage.
-func maybeHintDoerContext(exitCode int, configDir string) {
-	status := cli.GetLastStatus()
+// status is the HTTP status code from the last request (pass cli.GetLastStatus()).
+func maybeHintDoerContext(exitCode int, status int, configDir string) {
 	if exitCode == 0 || (status != 401 && status != 403) {
 		return
 	}
 	if !cachedTokenIsDoer() {
 		return
 	}
-	if readCustomerContext(configDir) != "" {
+	if readCustomerContext(configDir) != "" || customerContextFlagValue != "" {
 		return
 	}
 	if term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stderr.Fd())) {
@@ -983,6 +990,7 @@ func addOutputFlag() {
 	dciCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP("table-columns", "C", "", "Comma-separated list of columns to include (default: all)")
 	dciCmd.PersistentFlags().IntP("table-width", "W", 0, "Table width in columns (default: auto-detect terminal width)")
 	dciCmd.PersistentFlags().IntP("table-max-col-width", "X", 0, "Maximum width per column when fitting or wrapping (0 = auto)")
+	dciCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP("customer-context", "D", "", "Override the active customer context for this command (e.g. acme.com)")
 
 	// Bind table flags into viper so the renderer can pick them up.
 	prev := dciCmd.PersistentPreRunE
@@ -1021,6 +1029,24 @@ func addOutputFlag() {
 		bindNonNegativeIntFlag(cmd, "table-width")
 		bindNonNegativeIntFlag(cmd, "table-max-col-width")
 
+		// If --customer-context / -D was explicitly passed, override whatever
+		// applyCustomerContext() injected from the file or env var.
+		if flag := cmd.Flags().Lookup("customer-context"); flag != nil && flag.Changed {
+			val := strings.TrimSpace(flag.Value.String())
+			if val == "" {
+				return fmt.Errorf("--customer-context requires a non-empty domain name")
+			}
+			existing := viper.GetStringSlice("rsh-query")
+			filtered := existing[:0]
+			for _, q := range existing {
+				if !strings.HasPrefix(q, "customerContext=") {
+					filtered = append(filtered, q)
+				}
+			}
+			viper.Set("rsh-query", append(filtered, "customerContext="+val))
+			customerContextFlagValue = val
+		}
+
 		return nil
 	}
 }
diff --git a/main_test.go b/main_test.go
index 0cb62b4..457e57b 100644
--- a/main_test.go
+++ b/main_test.go
@@ -1316,3 +1316,64 @@ func TestApplyDoerContext(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestCustomerContextFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	bin := buildBinary(t)
+
+	t.Run("empty --customer-context errors", func(t *testing.T) {
+		home := t.TempDir()
+		res := runCLIWithEnv(t, bin, home, []string{"DCI_API_KEY=test-key"}, "list-budgets", "--customer-context", "")
+		if res.timedOut {
+			t.Fatalf("command timed out; output:\n%s", res.output)
+		}
+		if res.exitCode == 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("expected non-zero exit; output:\n%s", res.output)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(res.output, "--customer-context requires a non-empty domain name") {
+			t.Fatalf("expected error message in output:\n%s", res.output)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("-D short form appears in help", func(t *testing.T) {
+		home := t.TempDir()
+		res := runCLIWithEnv(t, bin, home, []string{"DCI_API_KEY=test-key"}, "list-budgets", "--help")
+		if res.timedOut {
+			t.Fatalf("command timed out; output:\n%s", res.output)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(res.output, "-D, --customer-context") {
+			t.Fatalf("expected -D/--customer-context flag in help output:\n%s", res.output)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Doer hint suppressed when customerContextFlagValue set", func(t *testing.T) {
+		setupTestCache(t)
+		cli.Cache.Set(testTokenCacheKey, doerJWT())
+
+		// Simulate --customer-context flag having been set for this invocation.
+		customerContextFlagValue = "acme.com"
+		t.Cleanup(func() { customerContextFlagValue = "" })
+
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		// No persistent context file — conditions that would normally trigger the hint.
+
+		// Capture stderr.
+		r, w, _ := os.Pipe()
+		oldStderr := os.Stderr
+		os.Stderr = w
+
+		// Call with exitCode=1 and status=403 — would print the hint for a Doer
+		// with no persistent context, unless customerContextFlagValue suppresses it.
+		maybeHintDoerContext(1, 403, dir)
+
+		w.Close()
+		os.Stderr = oldStderr
+		buf := make([]byte, 4096)
+		n, _ := r.Read(buf)
+		output := string(buf[:n])
+		r.Close()
+
+		if strings.Contains(output, "DoiT employees need a customer context") {
+			t.Fatalf("expected hint to be suppressed, but got:\n%s", output)
+		}
+	})
+}