Why should they change? The perks you describe (free beer; coffee are perks: they cost almost nothing compared to salary and have little lasting real value for

Why should they change? The perks you describe (free beer; coffee are perks: they cost almost nothing compared to salary and have little lasting real value for the employee) are cheaper than real benefits and a sufficient number of developers are happy to consider them as part of their compensation. Also, the beer and coffee perks you describe aren't all that common, even in tech centers like the Bay Area. Most of the "perks" in these places are limited to things that are free (amortized) to the company: ping-pong tables, kitschy furniture and the like. Occasional (or even frequent) catered meals and snacks are far more common, but even these are relatively cheap compared to employees' salaries.