You chose Vodafone, the fault is yours! :P
Apart from joking, unfortunately with Vodafone it's all so complicated with this (horrible) options. That's again one of the reasons why I always suggest Wind or TIM. They are also easier for activating options by yourself. Vodafone network should be ok, it's strange you had bad coverage, but of course in the mountains all operators can have some problems and BTW lately I read Vodafone has network problems in the Veneto region and around.
Next time go with Wind or TIM...
