[Bahamut]

I have only had good experience with a few recruiters - the first one I worked with to get my first job, and one who only sent quality resumes to my company after working with them for years.

I have noticed a pattern from the hiring side though - recruiters often first send a lot of crappy resumes. It takes giving a serious talk about the quality of resumes being sent our way before they start sending more serious resumes. It dawned on me that a recruiter's role is to play matchmaker, not necessarily to send the best resumes to your company. This means that only the companies that complain & threaten to cut off the relationship are the ones that see the best resumes.