Tailoring pants - lower waits height?

I received a very nice pair of black pants as a gift. They fit great except for the fact that they’re Shania Twain high rise. If you wear the waist at a normal height the crotch seam hangs half-way down your thigh. So what I’d like to do is take down the top. Its not a big deal if the pockets are cut in half and it requires a new shorter zipper.

Anyway… I took them to a tailor (Chinese – terrible english), who said he couldn’t it (in a number of hand gestures and broken English). Is this possible, or am I wasting my time?