What are they really trying to do? Is this some way for them to have "dibs" on you, in case you somehow manage to get an interview with one of their client companies independently?
And dishonest as well. You're not the client; you're the product.
Spoken word coding would kill me.
So I went to their office in SF. I had to wait around for awhile before finally being led back by what I can only describe as a bimbo recruiter. I sat at her desk among a see of other recruiters (most on phones) as she plodded through my resume and did God knows what on her computer. Basically, she completely failed to comprehend anything about my skill set and, in person, did that recruiter thing where they repeatedly mention jobs wholly unrelated to anything in your past.
Then they wanted references. Without any job having even been specified. I refused, stating that I only give references when an offer is on the table. They kept prying, saying they needed to vet me before presenting me (again, to no job that had been mentioned). Basically, I think they were just trying to pump me for contact.
Eventually, they gave up and went on to ask about past salary. As a matter of principle, I refuse to give this out. If you don't know what I'm worth, you shouldn't be in the business. They continued to pry, for some reason refusing to take "none of your business" for an answer. Finally, she asked if I could meet with some other guy.
So I sit in another room for ten minutes until this guy finally walks in. Turns out he's just there to try and break me for salary info. I keep telling him various version of, "I have a policy of never discussing past salary," to no avail. Finally he says, "look, I understand if you were underpaid," (I wasn't), "but you can either tell us, or there's nothing more we can do here." I said, "okay," and walked out.
A week later I got an email from the same idiots about another position completely unrelated to my skillset. I responded, telling them that I thought they were downright creepy and not to contact me again. He emailed me back to "disagree". I blacklisted their domain in my email client.
So, basically, my impression is that at best you are dealing with someone who values their time above yours, and more likely someone who is trying to pump you for information.