Actually, I have always heard that the round bowl toilets flush better than the elongated bowl toilets. For most people (as catbuilder said), the elongated vs round choice is a personal comfort issue. Many men prefer the elongated toilet for anatomical reasons. I (as a female) also prefer the comfort of a round bowl, but have been changing to elongated bowls to accommodate the man in my life.

The bolted tank lid mentioned a few posts up is an optional feature meant primarily for commercial installations to deter vandalism. They're not usually used in private homes. My experience: Drake 1.6 - mostly excellent, except that it send most of the water down the front in a large flume leaving very little for the sides and back of the bowl. Sometimes a piece of TP will remain stuck to the wall after flushing. But it never clogs, and flushes very fast. Drake II 1.28 - has a small water spot just like other 1.28gpf commodes, but this one sends lots of swirling water down the sides so nothing sticks. Also has been flawlessly reliable in the short time I've had it. All the water emerges from only two large holes in the rim rather than lots of tiny holes, the latter which tend to get clogged and mildewy with time. (there's also a big underwater jet in front of the drain). Side flush lever a bit slippery but can be easily changed if you don't like it.

Actually most if not all elongated toilet seats are standardized to fit any elongated toilet. If you have a conventional round bowl it will take the standard round style seat. If you are unsure, Toto makes a full line of seats other than the one that comes on the drake. From what Ive seen online the common complaint about the Drake seat is that it is thin and contemporary and has a tendency to make you feel as if you are sliding backwards when seated on it. We have 2 Toto Ultramax styled toilets and the original seats were very different from the one on a Drake. I just recently replaced one with a Toto Washlet and its great.

I purchased a Toto EcoDrake (what I thought was a Drake but upon arrival it was an EcoDrake) for $339.16 with a 10" rough in. It is possible that the 10" rough in might cost more than the standard. Another plumbing store quoted me $397.61. I replaced what used to be an American Standard (that cracked on me during storage during a renovation). The toilet did not come with a seat and I purchased a Toto soft close seat, though I can't find the exact amount I paid (under $50 I think). The installation was fairly easy, although I had to repair the toilet flange with a repair ring (less than $20 from Home Depot I think) which necessitated some drilling and cutting of the old broken pieces of the original plastic flange. So overall the cost of the parts was around or over $400 in Utah (which is probably a lot cheaper than DC). I would definitely agree that asking for an itemized invoice would be reasonable. If you can throw it off on "tax purposes" or "insurance purposes" or something so that you don't sound suspicious, that would probably help gain cooperation. You could also call up the company to ask what their hourly rate might be and whether they have a minimum per job. It sounds like they may have charged nearly $400 for the service call which seems a little high to me if they were only there for an hour, but it may depend on DC rates. (Assuming that the augering cost was billed separately?) When I received quotes from plumbers locally (in Utah) they were for between $90-130/hour. I suppose if the plumbing company has any kind of a minimum number of hours charged per job and rates that would likely be higher than Utah, you might end up with a $400 labor fee. I honestly do not find it very strange that they gave her a non-Toto seat without asking. When I had an american Standard toilet installed a few years ago (on a warranty, and yes this is the same one that cracked during storage), the plumber had a standard elongated soft-close toilet seat that he installed. The only thing he asked was whether I wanted to pay a little more for the soft close. There was no discussion of brand and he just installed what he had in his truck. I'm guessing that this plumber did the same thing.