Every time I have the tracking on my car sorted, the tyre people only seem to be able to get my wheels tracking straight with the steering wheel off to the side. How hard can it be to do it right first time?
Its like riding with your stem pointing off to the side.
Grr.
Every time
I think you need to keep your car straight and stop driving into kerbs 
well, its more linked to when my tyres are replaced.
Or randomly decide to loose their balancing magnets.
I must admit though, i do often have to drive off the road as lots of singletrack roads with no passing places round me 
Tracking can sometimes just mean messing about with the front wheels toein and toe out.
Alignment can be all four wheels are checked, adjusted.
Tracking shouldn't need to be done every time you have the tyres changed (that is normally a simple balance). Unless, I assume, the wheels/tyres have been so badly balanced they have thrown the tracking out.
In my experience, National Tyres manage to set tracking properly. Some places just seem to be incapable of it. God knows why - some cars even have a facility for you to lock the rack in the central position so you KNOW everything is at the right starting point.
I suspect the level of kit used is the biggest difference - if your steering rack is not central, there will be big variances in camber from one side to the other. Basic kit won't pick that up, good kit will.
i do wonder if it's more to do with lazy working. Unfortunately am tied to 1 company as its a company car. oh well, back there at lunchtime.
They are not doing it right. They are meant to clamp the steering wheel in place before adjusting the tracking. Take it back and get them to fix it.
If you think you have an ongoing problem that tracking isn't fixing, pay an extra £20-30 and get a 4 wheel alignment done. Tracking = 1 alignment measured (front wheels pointing the same direction) 4 wheel alignment = minimum of 12 angles measured include what the rear wheels are up to. alignmycar.co.uk
Made my squiffy Mondeo feel like a new car Rear wheels were toe'd in too far which made it twitchy and chewed up the rear tyres.
i do wonder if it's more to do with lazy working. Unfortunately am tied to 1 company as its a company car. oh well, back there at lunchtime.
Not really in their interest to fix it then, is it? Tracking's out, you wear tyres faster, you go back there for tyres more regularly, they make more money.
I'd suggest making the point that bad tracking can make a car unsafe to drive - grip is reduced and braking distances increase. Maybe mention corporate manslaughter if you're feeling a bit TJ 
Had this problem for years with my pimpmobile. Dovercourt Ford were unable to sort it after 3 attempts using their hi-tech gear as well as replacing the suspension bushings.
When replacing a tyre I asked my local garage to have a quick look at it. The man spent about 2 minutes adjusting something by hand and it's been sorted ever since.
Every time I have the tracking on my car sorted, the tyre people only seem to be able to get my wheels tracking straight with the steering wheel off to the side. How hard can it be to do it right first time?
That is poor service & inept.
I do 4 wheels on my car at home using the string method (well strimmer line, rather than string), cheap and accurate. Always pays at the front to centre the rack, then centre the steering wheel in case some div has tried to correct wheel position by moving the steering wheel round a spline then when that is all central, locking the steering wheel in the centre ahead position (garages should do this as well) before undertaking alignment.
also do camber using same sort of technique
You do your own? How accurate is that, and do you just point everything straight ahead or set the angles as specified for the car?
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