[jschwartzi]

If you think of it as anything other than a business relationship you're in for a rude surprise. Recruiters exist to do one thing: sell you to potential employers. In exchange they receive a cut of your potential salary as a commission. Thus it's both in their best interests to market you and to make sure the company they're selling you to won't fire you too quickly. If you don't have good experiences with them it's probably because they don't know how to sell you.